The Prince and the Jester
by Evergone the Great
Summary: A prince betrayed by his family and banished from his homeland. A clown-like killer from another world with an axe to grind and mastery over the ultimate fighting technique. Put these two together, and what do you get? One very entertaining show of a rebellion.
1. The Prince's Will

**Chapter 1: The prince and the jester**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

Area 11, Shinjuku ghetto, year 2015, Lelouch 15 years old, same time of year as the Shinjuku massacre

Lelouch was exploring the ghetto, looking at what the britannian empire had done to the japanese people. A vision of poverty that only strengthened Lelouch's resolve to destroy britannia and even more so strengthened his desire to see the emperor dead at his feet.

After reminding himself of his cause, Lelouch was heading home. As he was walking, he passed an old abandoned building. Just as he was passing the door… something pulled him into the building, as if there was a rope tied around his arm.

After Lelouch was in the building, he saw a strange man with pale skin wearing a black vest, decorated with large white playing card symbols; on the front left was a white heart, on the front right was a white diamond, on the back right was a white club, and on the back left was a white spade. He wore a total of twelve black bracelets, three around each wrist and three on each shoulder. He wore a pair of black pants that stopped just above his ankles, and on his feet was a pair of white curly toed shoes. He had pinkish-red flame style hair and on his face was painted a purple star on his right cheek and an orange teardrop on the left. In his left hand was a deck of playing cards. The man was sitting on what used to be the front desk of the hotel building they were in.

"Hello Lelouch vi Britannia, lovely day to be banished from the royal family." The stranger greeted.

Lelouch was shocked that this strange person knew who he really was.

"What? I think you have me confused with someone else, my names Lelouch Lamperouge." Lelouch said in an attempt to get away.

"Please, don't insult my intelligence mister former eleventh prince of the empire. I know who you are and I know of your goal to bring down your homeland." The stranger countered.

Lelouch knew he probably wasn't going to get out of this easily.

"Oh, how rude of me, I never introduced myself; my name is Hisoka and I believe I can help you achieve your goal." The now named Hisoka said.

"How?" Lelouch asked, now intrigued.

"Allow me to answer that question with a question." Hisoka requested. "How did I pull you in here?"

That was a good question. 'How did he pull me in?' Lelouch thought. 'I know he didn't grab me, and I don't see any chain or rope.'

"You see, I'm in possession of a special technique known as nen." Hisoka answered.

"Nen?" Lelouch questioned.

"Basically, it's a way of weaponizing your own life force. I can teach you to use nen, thus giving you an advantage over the empire. You see, the only way to beat a nen user is with nen of your own, of which britannia has none." Hisoka explained.

"It sounds interesting, but I have a few questions, first, what do you stand to gain, Hisoka was it?" Lelouch asked.

"I have a score to settle with someone, a powerful nen user named Chrollo Lucilfer. I don't dare fight him on my own, not again. I'm actually quite lucky to be alive after my last fight with him. I'll teach you nen to help you destroy the britannian empire, and in return, you help me to kill Chrollo. Simple as that." Hisoka elaborated.

"Alright, but why me?" Lelouch asked.

"Well for one thing, nen is fueled by willpower, thus you have the potential to be very powerful. Another reason is because of the kind of person you are." Hisoka explained.

"The kind of person I am?" Lelouch questioned.

"The sound of a severed head hitting the ground with a thump, the sight of red ooze spreading outward, the sense of someone knowing their ambition will never be fulfilled. Such things excite me, and if you know how to use nen, I'm certain I will see quite a bit of it." Hisoka explained.

Lelouch, not happy that Hisoka pegged him as a guiltless killer, was still quite intrigued by the promise of power.

"How long would learning nen take?" Lelouch asked.

"It depends on the skill of the user, though the most common amount of time for an average person is about 12 or 13 months. But as I said, your will to defeat your enemy gives you great potential. That in mind, learning nen would probably take you about 5 or 6 months, but that's only a guess." Hisoka answered.

"And if I refuse? What would happen then Hisoka?" Lelouch asked.

"Well then, I suppose I would have to start searching for someone else to teach for the battle with Chrollo. I would probably start searching after the imperial military receives an anonymous tip about Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia living in obscurity as students at Ashford academy." Hisoka answered.

"You bastard!" Lelouch growled.

"So, do we have a deal?" Hisoka asked, his right hand extended.

"It seems we do." Lelouch said while shaking Hisoka's… extremely clammy hand.

"So, when do we start?" Lelouch asked.

"We can start now, and the first step in learning nen is to unlock your aura nodes." Hisoka stated.

"Aura nodes?" Lelouch asked.

"The numerous tiny points that generate and spread aura throughout your body. Think of it like a combination of your bloodstream and nervous system. Aura is the energy that keeps you alive. Before you can use nen, the nodes must first be unlocked." Hisoka explained.

"Alright, and how do I unlock them?" Lelouch asked.

"There are two ways to unlock your aura nodes. The first is the slow and safe method; unlocking the nodes through meditation. The other way is the fast and risky method; the baptism." Hisoka explained.

"Baptism?" Lelouch questioned.

"An experienced nen user, in this case me, will send a burst of their own aura through your system. This will force all of your nodes open at once." Hisoka answered.

"I see, and the sudden opening burst could damage the aura nodes." Lelouch deduced.

"Close, but no, that's not risk of the baptism." Hisoka corrected

"Then what is the risk?" Lelouch asked.

Hisoka answered by releasing a wave of malicious ren. The pulse of evil intention caused Lelouch to fall to his hands and knees, gasping for air.

"That's the risk of the baptism. Directly sending your aura into someone else's body is a surgical level procedure, if the baptizer, me, is too inexperienced in the use of nen, or carries malicious intent, then the recipient could suffer some serious physical consequences, the best case scenario being paralyzation from the waist down. An imperfect baptism could even kill you." Hisoka explained. "Knowing this, how would you like to unlock your aura nodes?" Hisoka asked.

Lelouch stood back up and gave his answer. "I'm planning to declare war on the most powerful empire in the world. If I can't take this risk, then I'll never get anywhere, I'll take the baptism."

Hisoka smiled and got up from the old desk he was sitting on.

"Excellent choice, and so very well said. Now, before your baptized, I should probably explain the four exercises." Hisoka mused.

"Four exercises?" Lelouch questioned.

"The four basic practices that are vital to the learning and use of nen. The first is called ten, where you envelope yourself in a shroud of nen aura; this makes your body tougher and slows the effects of aging." Hisoka explained. "For example, how old do you think I am?"

"I don't know, 25 maybe." Lelouch guessed.

"I'm 95." Hisoka corrected. Lelouch had a hard time hearing that.

"You're in your mid-nineties? But you don't look anywhere near that old." Lelouch pointed out.

"Such is the longevity promoting effect of ten. The average nen user who learns at a young age has a lifespan that exceeds a thousand years." Hisoka responded.

'The first exercise alone would make anyone a legend. And still three more exercises to go.' Lelouch thought impressed.

"The second exercise is called zetsu, where you close all of your aura nodes completely; this prevents aura from leaking out of your body, thus allowing you to mask your presence and speed up the recovery process. It also allows you to become one with your surroundings and sense incoming danger." Hisoka explained. "Just remember, you can't attack while zetsu is active. You would first have to shut it off before striking."

Lelouch was even more impressed now, toughening his body and masking his presence would both be greatly beneficial.

"The third is called ren, where you amplify the amount of raw aura in your body for the purpose of effective use. That burst of dark intention I hit you with earlier was ren, but a version infused with malicious intent." Hisoka informed.

'First strengthening my body to slow my aging, then masking presence, and now bringing people down to their knees just by being angry at them. Why didn't I find out about nen sooner.' Lelouch thought excitedly.

"The final exercise is hatsu, where you release the energy you built up using ren. There are six types of hatsu, but I'll explain more about that when your training reaches that point." Hisoka finished.

'You can stop digging, you already struck gold.' Lelouch thought as he pondered what the six hatsu's might be.

"For now, let's go back to the first exercise, ten. Once I baptize you, a vast amount of aura will begin leaking out of your body. The way you stop it from leaking is by cloaking the aura around yourself using ten. If you don't use ten, the aura will just keep leaking out until you pass out. The aura loss could even be fatal, which is another risk of the baptism, all the aura being released so suddenly, rather than learning ten while meditating." Hisoka explained. "However, ten is like walking, once you learn how, you'll never forget, and the more you practice, the more passive an action it will become. Eventually, you will even be able to do it in your sleep."

Lelouch was twitching with anticipation.

"Once your aura is unlocked, think of your aura flowing through you like a river. Flowing from your head and down your torso, through your hips and down your arms, down your legs and back up again." Hisoka explained. "As for your stance, do whatever feels right to you, though a natural stance is known to work best."

"I'm ready." Lelouch stated.

"Alright." Hisoka said. Hisoka walked up to Lelouch, put his hand to the boys torso, and sent a burst of aura into Lelouch's body.

Lelouch immediately felt the effects.

"Woah, this feels weird, is this steam… no… is that my aura?" Lelouch spoke, seeing the aura vaporize from his body.

"Lelouch, the exercise, start using ten." Hisoka warned.

"Oh right." Lelouch confirmed. Lelouch closed his eyes and relaxed himself into a normal standing position, like Hisoka suggested. 'A river flowing through my body, from my head to my torso, to my arms and to my hips, down my legs and back up again.' Lelouch thought.

The aura that was leaking out of Lelouch began to slow, and then, it wrapped around him like a cloak.

"Well done Lelouch." Hisoka complimented. 'I don't think he realizes it took him over an hour to achieve ten. Oh well, that's still less time than most people would need.'

Lelouch opened his eyes to see the aura shroud around him.

"Woah, this is amazing, and it feels incredible." Lelouch noted happily.

"Don't get too excited; of the four exercises, ten is the easiest to master." Hisoka said.

"If you say so Hisoka." Lelouch conceded.

"I want you to practice using ten. Come back here in exactly one week from today. If you've progressed far enough, then you get to learn zetsu." Hisoka ordered.

"If I have to practice feeling five times greater than my normal self in order to learn nen, then I'll just have to persevere." Lelouch said semi-sarcastically.

"Oh, speaking of which Lelouch, there is one other thing that I probably should mention." Hisoka said.

"I'm listening." Lelouch replied.

"Ten might make your body a little tougher, but ten can only do so much. You yourself need to have physical capabilities on your own. I recommend you join a gym." Hisoka explained.

"Please tell me you're kidding." Lelouch whined.

"You can either start working out, or you can be hindered in battle." Hisoka responded.

"Huh, I guess you're right." Lelouch agreed.

"There is another advantage to a workout routine." Hisoka mentioned.

"Which would be?" Lelouch asked.

"Lelouch, you have a genius level intellect, movie star good looks, the heart of a warrior, and the compassionate soul of a love poet. Add a muscular body to the mix and you'll be the total package to all the girls." Hisoka teased.

Lelouch just gave him the evil eye.

"Well, I'd better get going, see you in a week." Hisoka said as he walked away into the building; at that point, he just seemed to disappear into the shadows.

Lelouch decided that it was time to go home. He had some ten to practice, and apparently, some public fitness centers to research.

Lelouch walked out of the old hotel and made his way out of the ghetto, making his way back to Ashford academy.

Two years later 

"It appears that I have already won." Said a very fat britannian nobleman sitting on the white side of a chessboard. The old man on the black side looking very worried.

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a pair of seventeen year old boys, both wearing Ashford academy uniforms. The first was a scrawny blue haired boy with a trademark stupid look on his face. The other was a black haired boy with violet eyes who had an air of confidence about him. The black haired boy had a strong physical build.

"Oh thank goodness." The old man explained as he stood up from his chair.

"Your substitute is a student?" The noble asked arrogantly.

"Your opponent is a noble?" The black haired boy asked jokingly.

"Ha, I envy the youth, so much time on their hands." The noble mused.

"Shall we get started?" The black haired boy asked seriously as he sat in the chair of the player he was substituting for.

"Hold on, you're the substitute? I had expected it to be the scrawny nerdy one there." Said the nobles butler who was pointing at the blue haired boy.

"Hey!" The bluenette complained.

"Oh no, Rivalz here is just my ride. I assure you that I'm the intelligent one." The dark haired student explained.

"You're mean." The now named Rivalz countered.

"I had assumed you were a pseudo-bodyguard he hired to make himself look more professional. Oh well, I suppose this'll teach me not to judge a book by its cover." The noble laughed. "Well then, may I know the name my new opponent?" The fat man asked.

"No you may not, but I'll tell you anyway; I am Lelouch Lamperouge." The dark haired boy answered. 'I've been spending too much time with Hisoka.' Lelouch thought.

"Hold on, there's no way you can win this, it's impossible." Rivalz said after seeing the board.

"Rivalz, how long do we have until we have to leave for our next class?" Lelouch asked.

"Um, I think twenty minutes if we go past the speed limit." Rivalz responded.

"Well then I guess we're driving home carefully, because I only need a maximum of nine minutes." Lelouch stated.

"Nine minutes? You only have twenty seconds per move." The noble pointed out.

"What's your point?" Lelouch asked as he moved the black king and hit the timer.

"You start with the king, your really are just a foolish child, aren't you?" The noble asked sarcastically.

(Five minute later)

Lelouch and Rivalz were currently walking out of the building to Rivalz's motorbike. Lelouch proudly holding a bag of money.

"Four minutes twelve seconds, I guarantee you that that has to be a record." Rivalz said excitedly.

"I love playing against nobility, they always favor their pride, meaning they bribe me not brag about beating them." Lelouch mused.

"How do you do it buddy?" Rivalz asked.

"Simple strategic brilliance Rivalz." Lelouch responded. 'Plus, it certainly doesn't hurt that I hit my opponents with small waves of malicious ren to make it more difficult for them to come up with good moves.' Lelouch thought to himself. 'Thanks Hisoka!'

"Hey Lelouch, I've been meaning to ask you, why do always start with the king?" Rivalz asked as he got on his bike.

"If the king doesn't lead, his subjects won't follow." Lelouch answered as he got in the sidecar.

"Wow, interesting philosophy, do you fantasize about running a major company someday?" Rivalz questioned.

"No way, ambition like that will ruin your health." Lelouch responded as they both put on their helmets.

"Well you sure do care about your health. The nerve of those people, calling me a scrawny nerd." Rivalz complained as he started the bike.

"Can you blame them, I've offered to let you come to the gym with me." Lelouch reminded.

"Sorry, but I prefer being around people who can't break an iron bar with their bare hands." Rivalz countered. "Seriously, what kind of workout program do they have there?" Rivalz asked, remembering Lelouch's most impressive show of strength.

"It's just simple exercise." Lelouch pointed out. 'I just happen strengthen my body with aura, as anyone can.' He thought.

"Simple exercise that makes people mistake you for a male swimsuit model." Rivalz countered.

'Lucky for me. My body has only aged a few days since unlocking my aura nodes and learning ten two years ago. Building up my muscles has prevented anyone from noticing the stall in my ageing process.' Lelouch thought. "Fair enough!" Lelouch conceded.

"You know what the worst part is, you don't even take advantage of it. You could have any girl you want. Heck, girls try to seduce you all the time. And occasionally, a few boys flirt with you too. Yet you stay single. It's such a waste." Rivalz explained.

"Rivalz, when I have a serious relationship with a GIRL, I want it to be because I fell in love. That's why my parents got married." Lelouch explained.

It wasn't a lie. Marianne was born a commoner, but Charles still married her, not because of status like his other wives, but because he actually fell in love.

"If you say so. But if you're holding out, who are you holding out for? I mean, what do you look for in a girl?" Rivalz asked.

"Well, I suppose the first thing I look for is nerves of steel, a real no nonsense attitude, it gives me chills. I also find myself attracted to girls who are compassionate about the needs of others, and I don't mean just talking about helping others, I mean actually doing something to help those in need. Oh, and between you and me, I have a small fetish for girls with red hair." Lelouch confessed.

Not too far away, in the passenger seat of a truck carrying dangerous cargo, a red headed girl sneezed.

"Though, I guess I should probably broaden my horizon. I mean, what are the chances I'll meet an age appropriate girl who fits that description?" Lelouch asked.

The chances are actually better than he might think.

Lelouch took a moment to admire the money he earned in the earlier chess match.

"Hey Rivalz, do you think next time, you could find me an opponent who might actually be able to challenge me?" Lelouch asked.

"I might be able to set up a game with an eleven, there not like us britannians." Rivalz suggested.

Suddenly, a news broadcast caught the boy's attention.

"During the recent terrorist attack, eight britannians and several others died instantly. Now here to say a few words is the royal viceroy of area eleven, the third prince Clovis la Britannia." The reporter informed.

"To you, the people of Britannia, and to the many cooperative elevens." Clovis started.

"We're not elevens, we're Japanese." Stated a certain redheaded girl.

"Can't you see my pain. My heart cries out to the dearly departed who left the world of the living all too soon. Why must these accursed terrorists try to destroy our glorious way of life?" Clovis continued.

"Don't ask a question you already know the answer to." Said a clown like man who was watching the broadcast from the top of a building.

"Please join me in a moment of silence as we all mourn the unfortunate souls who have left us behind in this world." Clovis finished.

As Clovis finished his speech, Lelouch looked very annoyed.

'Clovis, as big a showboating fool as ever. I'd definitely identify you as an emitter.' Lelouch thought.

Flashback, the old Shinjuku hotel, 4 months and 2 weeks after Lelouch first met Hisoka

Lelouch and Hisoka were in the old abandoned hotel. In between them was a table, and on that table was a wine glass filled to the brim with water, floating on top of the water was a small leaf.

"Now that you've mastered ren, it's finally time for you to learn hatsu." Hisoka explained.

"So, how do I do it?" Asked a slightly muscular Lelouch.

"First, you need to understand the six types of hatsu." Hisoka informed.

Lelouch nodded and said "I'm listening."

"The first type of hatsu is enhancement type; where the user uses nen to enhance their own natural abilities. One might use nen to strengthen their legs, thus allowing them to jump as high as a skyscraper. Or perhaps one might strengthen their throat, lungs, and vocal cords, creating a sonic scream." Hisoka explained.

"So the first hatsu type alone makes someone beyond what human limitation will allow. I like the possibilities of such a power." Lelouch mused.

"The second type is called transmutation type, where the user modifies their aura to match the qualities of something else. A person might alter their aura into an element. Transmuting your aura into poison so that your enemies will become very sick to the point of death, or matching your aura to solid steel to give yourself a suit of armor. You can even alter your aura to match animal characteristics; such as shielding yourself by altering your aura into a turtle shell." Hisoka explained.

"Taking on the strength of mother nature. Sounds like a plan to me." Lelouch mentioned.

"The third type is known as conjuration type. The user manifests their aura into a helpful object that they can make appear and disappear at will. Just remember, nen is not magic, so some conjuring's are simply impossible. A sword that can cut through anything, a spear of infinite length, chains that cannot be broken. Such things are out of reach for simply being impossible. However, a barbecue lighter that can unleash an enormous wildfire, a pocket fan that creates an immense whirlwind, a bubble wand that blows exploding bubbles. These things are possible." Hisoka explained.

"Super weapons in the form of everyday objects. I believe we have a winner." Lelouch chuckled.

"The fourth type is emission type nen, where the user utilizes their own raw aura outside of their body as a weapon, usually as a projectile. You might toss a spinning disk of aura at your enemy so they are chopped in half. Another possibility is that you could throw ball of aura that explodes on impact. Though I should warn you, this nen type can really take a toll on your stamina." Hisoka explained.

"Using my very life force as the weapon of my vengeance. I like the idea of that." Lelouch stated.

"The fifth type of nen is manipulation type, where the user is able to freely control objects and living things, even humans. You could stick an antenna in someone's neck so you could control them through your cell phone. Or you could manipulate a bullet to follow the intended target until it makes contact with the victim. The weakness of this nen type is that it requires a medium to be manipulated." Hisoka explained.

"Hypnotized servants to do my bidding. Is it just me, or is each type of nen better than the last?" Lelouch questioned.

"Finally, we have specialization type aura, which is nen that doesn't fall into any of the previous categories. Reading minds, seeing the future, being able to turn invisible; these are the things you can do with specialist type nen. Though, specialist nen tends to come with conditions that must be fulfilled before the nen can be used. The more potent the ability, the more conditions you would need to fulfill." Hisoka finished.

"Conditions or not, it sounds like the chime of endless possibilities. I don't know which one to choose." Lelouch stated.

"You don't choose." Hisoka interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch questioned.

"The nen type you possess is the one you're born with, or at least it's what you develop at a very young age. Now, we're going to find out what nen type you have. That's what this is for." Hisoka said while gesturing to the wine glass on the table.

"How exactly is a wine glass of water supposed to tell what nen type I have?" Lelouch asked confused.

"This is the test of water divination. You're going to channel your aura into the wine glass and then something will happen to tell us what type of nen you possess. If the amount of water changes, then you're an enhancer; if the taste of the water changes, then you're a transmuter; if the the water fills with gunk, then you're a conjurer; if the water changes color, it means you're an emitter; if the leaf moves atop the surface of the water, you're a manipulator; if some other effect happens, it means you're a specialist." Hisoka explained.

"Interesting!" Lelouch noted.

"If I had to guess, I would say you're probably a conjurer." Hisoka mentioned

"How do you know?" Lelouch asked.

"Personality analysis, it's not really an exact science, but it proves to be fairly accurate. Enhancers are simple and determined, transmuters are whimsical and deceitful, conjurers are cowardly and intelligent, emitters are idiotic and short tempered, manipulators are calm and argumentative, specialists are independent and charismatic. So again, I'm guessing you're a conjurer." Hisoka elaborated.

Lelouch, not sure how to feel about being called both intelligent and cowardly, decided to take the opportunity to learn a bit more about his clown like teacher. "So, what kind of nen do you have?" Lelouch asked.

"I have transmutation type nen. I modify my aura to match the qualities of sticky stretchy candy goo; I call it Bungee gum. It's how I pulled you into the building when we first met. Remember?" Hisoka explained.

"I remember." Lelouch noted. 'So that's how he did it.' Lelouch thought.

"That reminds me, I should mention, once you confirm the type of nen you possess, it's up to you to develop your nen ability on your own. You see Lelouch, nen is based on the user's own personal enrichment; for example, my Bungee gum is based on my favorite candy from when I was a child." Hisoka informed.

"Good to know." Lelouch stated. "So, what kind of nen does that man you want to kill, Chrollo, what can he do?" Lelouch asked.

"He's a specialist, his nen ability is called Skill hunter. It allows him to steal other people's nen abilities and keep said abilities in a book, the same way one would keep a pressed flower." Hisoka answered. "His arsenal is very wide and very powerful, that's what makes him so very dangerous."

"He can steal people's nen?" Lelouch asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, I'm afraid so; and if he were to steal one's nen ability, then the victim would no longer be able to use the ability that was stolen, while Chrollo would be able to use the ability as if it were his own." Hisoka added.

"Then why would you teach new nen users if he's just going to steal their abilities and become even stronger?" Lelouch questioned.

"As I told you, specialist type abilities usually come with conditions, and Chrollo must meet four conditions before he can steal a person's powers. The first condition is that he has to see the nen ability in action, the second condition is that the ability must be explained to him, third, the victim he's trying to steal from must touch their hand to the book where he keeps the stolen nen, willingly or not, and finally, all three previously mentioned conditions must be met in under and hour." Hisoka answered.

"I see, and by training new nen users, you hope to overwhelm him, regardless of his various abilities, since he's still just one man." Lelouch deduced.

"Precisely." Hisoka confirmed. "Though there is something else working in our favor. In order to use his stolen nen, he needs to be holding the book, and he must keep it open to the page that contains the ability he wishes to use. Meaning he can only use one nen ability at a time. On that note, he also has an ability known as Double face, which takes the form of a bookmark. He selects a nen ability in his arsenal and is able to use that ability even if the book is closed and/or even if he's not even holding the book. If he were to use the bookmark on one page and keep the book open to another, the he could simultaneously use the abilities of both pages. So at maximum he can use only two abilities at a time."

"This book, it's the key to his nen, right?" Lelouch questioned. "If so, would it be possible to take the book and destroy it?" 'Or perhaps use it ourselves?'

"I wish, but no, the book is a conjuration of Chrollo's own aura. Even if we did acquire the book, Chrollo would just will it to disappear and then conjure a new one." Hisoka answered.

Lelouch looked quite irritated. Fighting Chrollo would be a pain indeed.

"What if the person that Chrollo stole nen from were to die? Would he lose that person's ability then?" Lelouch questioned.

"Possibly, but I can't confirm that." Hisoka answered. "Now, if we're done talking about Chrollo, could you please channel your aura into the wine glass. Just take both hands, put them parallel to the glass, and channel aura out your palms and into the glass."

Lelouch did as instructed, and as he was channeling aura into the glass, something, like a small piece of coal, began to form in the water.

"Seems I was correct, you are a conjurer." Hisoka noted.

"So what now?" Lelouch asked.

"Now, you will practice the water divination over the course of the next month. The divination not only tells you what nen type you have, it's also a good way to practice hatsu. The more profound the change to the wine glass, the greater mastery you have of hatsu." Hisoka instructed.

"Understood." Lelouch agreed.

Flashback end

Lelouch huffed at the thought of Clovis using emitter type nen. 'As if he could use nen effectively. That pompous show boater is a major cause of all the terrorism in this country. He's too incompetent to do anything about it.' Lelouch thought.

"Aren't you going to join in?" Rivalz asked, referring to the moment of silence Clovis announced.

"Aren't you?" Lelouch countered.

"I'd be too embarrassed." Rivalz admitted.

"It's only personal satisfaction in the end, and it won't bring the dead back." Lelouch stated.

"Dang, that's pretty dark buddy." Rivalz pointed out.

"I don't recall asking your opinion of my ideology." Lelouch growled.

"Well sorry, I didn't realize you were suffering from roid rage today. Must be making you extra cranky." Rivalz muttered.

"You take that back; you know very well that I would never pollute my body with steroids. I only take all-natural muscle enhancing herbs." Lelouch countered.

"Fine, I'm sorry!" Rivalz apologized.

"My workout regiment aside, I meant what I said. Mourning the fallen won't do anything to deal with the real problem. When I get my chance to do something productive for the state of the world, I'm going to take it. That's a promise." Lelouch explained.

Just then, a large truck came barreling through the street. The truck swerved to avoid the motorcycle in front of it, thus resulting in the truck crashing into a nearby structure.

Rivalz stopped his bike and turned to look at the crashed truck.

"Uh, was that our fault?" Rivalz questioned.

"What do you mean OUR?" Lelouch asked as he got out of the sidecar.

Lelouch and Rivalz looked down at the crashed truck from the edge of the higher street. Lelouch couldn't help but notice that there were multiple civilian bystanders staring down at the crashed vehicle as well. All of them talking about how someone should do something about the crash and to help the people inside.

'Imbeciles!' Lelouch thought. 'They always talk about how something needs to be done rather than actually doing something useful. Do they truly believe it doesn't fall into their responsibility?'

Lelouch began walking down toward the truck. As he approached, the onlookers noticed him and believed a student rescue unit had arrived.

"Hello, is anyone still alive in there." Lelouch called out when he got to the truck.

Lelouch climbed up the ladder on the side of the truck to look inside the hatch on the roof. Then, unexpectedly, the truck started up again, causing Lelouch to fall in as the truck drove off.

"This could be a problem!" Rivalz uttered.

 **Okay, why did I make Lelouch a conjurer? I know he has personality traits for all of the nen affinities, all but one; emission. So I just went with the polar opposite of an emitter, a conjuration type nen.**

 **Will Lelouch develop Specialist abilities? No, I have no plans to do so. Though I could change my mind if I get inspired.**

 **How did Hisoka get to the code geass world? There's a shrine or temple or something on the dark continent that has a portal. They have a video game console that teleports you to an island. Not to mention the five calamities. A portal to an alternate universe is not that far fetched.**

 **Hisoka would never ask for help to kill Chrollo you say. As long as Hisoka gets to strike the fatal blow, he doesn't care if he has help. Plus, after his last fight with Chrollo, Hisoka learned that he needs to take every advantage.**

 **Name: Lelouch vi Britannia**

 **Affinity: Conjurer**

 **Abilities:-**

 **Black king**

 **Black queen**

 **Black rook**

 **Black bishop**

 **Black knight**

 **Black pawn**

 **Cold shoulder**

 **Ice out**

 **Chess player**

 **Name: Black king (garb of the rightful ruler)**

 **Type: Conjuration**

 **Description:**

 **A suit of armor that forms around Lelouch's body. It looks just like his zero costume, but armor plated, and on the top of the helmet is a cross, like you see on the top of a black king chess piece. The cape, instead of being wrapped around his body, is just draped over his shoulders. The capes color and length are the same as canon.**

 **The armor emits an aura of authority, strength, and charisma. It makes other people want to follow his orders. However, the armor has no offensive or defensive capabilities.**

 **The suit is part of a condition contract; he can't summon his other five weapons unless black king is active. If he breaks this vow, then his life is a forfeit; however, there is a way for Lelouch to avoid the death penalty and renew the condition contract. Lelouch has 24 hours before the death punishment takes effect. If during that countdown period, Lelouch kills someone he considers precious to him, then his own life will be spared and his contract will reset, as if he never broke his vow.**

 **Name: Black queen (omnipotent reaper)**

 **Type: Conjuration**

 **Description:**

 **Black queen is a scythe. At the top of the staff wear the blade is attached is a design like a black queen chess piece.**

 **The scythe is intangible to all solid matter except flesh. The scythe is not intangible to objects infused with and/or made of nen.**

 **Name: Black rook (blunt force retribution)**

 **Type: Conjuration**

 **Description:**

 **Black rook is a very large war hammer. At the top of the stick, between the two hammerhead blocks, is a large black rook chess piece.**

 **Black rook only weighs 0.1 ounces, but at the last instant before the impact, it goes from 0.1 ounces to 10,000 tons. At the first instant after the impact, it goes back to 0.1 ounces. The lightweight is for speed, the heavyweight is for strength.**

 **Name: Black bishop (punishment of binding loyalty)**

 **Type: Conjuration**

 **Description:**

 **Black bishop is a chain. At one end of the chain is a handle in the form of a black bishop chess piece; at the other end of the chain is a claw.**

 **The chain automatically wraps around Lelouch's chosen target(s). The more loyalty the victim has for the one whom they serve, the chain squeezes tighter. If the victim is loyal to the point that they're willing to die, then they shall die by the chain squeezing them to death. It's meant to be a punishment for those who are loyal to Lelouch's enemies.**

 **Name: Black knight (ever present protection)**

 **Type: Conjuration**

 **Description:**

 **Black knight takes the form of a shield in the shape of a down pointed pentagon. On the front of the shield is a design of a black knight chess piece that spans the whole face of the shield.**

 **Any attack that hits the shield, the attacker will suffer the damage that Lelouch would have suffered without the shield to protect him. For example, if someone tried to shoot Lelouch in the shoulder and the black knight shield blocked it, then the shooter would get a bullet hole in his shoulder.**

 **This effect will only happen if someone actually caused the danger to target Lelouch. If Lelouch was in an old building and someone caused an explosion to make the building collapse, then the black knight shield would protect Lelouch and cause the bomber to get crushed. However, if the building collapsed on its own without any outside help then the shield is just a shield. It would still protect Lelouch, but no one would suffer the damage.**

 **Name: Black pawn (eight crippling vengeances)**

 **Type: Conjuration & Emission**

 **Description:**

 **Black pawn is a six shooter pistol with eight shots instead of six. The guns barrel takes the form of a horizontal black pawn chess piece, where the top the pawn is the end of the barrel and the bottom is just in front of the bullet cylinder (the part where the bullets are loaded).**

 **The gun fires bullets made of emission aura. Being shot by this pistol causes one of the victims limbs to be crippled at random. Four shots turns the victim into a quadriplegic, five shots makes the victim an omniplegic, six shots will cause the victim to die of brain death.**

 **The pistol comes pre-loaded when it's conjured, but it only has eight shots. Once all eight shots have been fired, Lelouch needs to reload it by popping the bullet cylinder and channeling emission nen into it. Reloading the gun takes eight seconds, one second for every shot. Lelouch can stop the reload early if he needs to, but it would mean he has less shots to work with.**

 **Name: Cold shoulder (outcast payback)**

 **Type: Transmutation**

 **Description:**

 **Lelouch modifies his aura to match the qualities of frost. Since the frost is transmutation, it can't be seen by non-nen users. Any ice seen by someone without nen is moisture from the air that got caught up in the cold.**

 **Lelouch grabs the target that he wants to freeze and then spreads the cold over the target, freezing them/it. The frost only affects the target that Lelouch is touching and doesn't spread to anything else. A person, any items their holding, and the clothing they wear all count as a single target. The larger the target, the more aura is required to freeze it. The frost melts the same as normal ice.**

 **Name: Ice out (ultimate pain of rejection)**

 **Type: Transmutation & Emission**

 **Description:**

 **Lelouch launches two streams of frost, one from each of his hands. He aims the frost jets at the environment around him, thus everything around him gets frozen. He can spread the freeze over a maximum radius of 100 meters. The further he spreads the ice, the sooner it will melt by one minute, the maximum amount of time it takes to melt being 101 minutes. For example, if he spreads the freeze over 30 meters, then it will melt after 71 minutes. If the frost is spread over 41 meters, then the ice will melt after one hour. If the frost is spread over the full 100, then it will melt after only one minute.**

 **The spread freeze can function as Lelouch's en. He can sense any disturbance across the frost for as long as before it melts.**

 **This ability has a condition contract in place. He can only use Ice out if his allies give him permission to destroy the area where the current battle is taking place.**

 **Name: Chess player (protean champion)**

 **Type: Conjuration**

 **Description:**

 **The Chess player is Lelouch's ultimate trump card.**

 **He conjurers a monstrous creature all around himself. The creature is about 5 meters tall, the same size as a knightmare frame. The creature has pale purple skin, black armor plating, a long lizard-like tail, and three-toed feet (think the feet of frieza from dragon ball). Overall, it looks like a giant monster version of his Black king armor. The Chess player's armor has the same effect as the Black knight shield.**

 **The Chess player has four arms; in the upper right hand is larger version of the Black queen scythe; in the upper left hand is larger version of the Black rook hammer; in the lower right hand is a large cannon-like version of the Black pawn pistol, said Black pawn cannon shoots a ball of aura that explodes on impact to turn all the victims who got caught in the blast into omniplegic's in a single shot, a second shot is brain death, plus the cannon doesn't need reloading, its shots are as limitless as Lelouch's aura can supply; and in the lower left hand is a triple chain version of the Black bishop chain (there are three identical chains coming from the enlarged Black bishop chain handle).**

 **There are four conditions that must be fulfilled before the Chess player can be conjured.**

 **Lelouch needs to have already utilized each and every one of his six black chess weapons throughout the course of the current battle. The list of weapons used does not carry over to the next battle.**

 **Lelouch needs to know the identity of the enemy commander. If it's only a single enemy, then the condition technically can't be fulfilled and the Chess player can't be summoned, even if the enemy uses nen beasts.**

 **The current battle needs to have been going on for at least half an hour. The time doesn't carry over to the next battle. Once the fight is over the timer resets back to zero.**

 **At least 50% of Lelouch's allies need to have been removed from the fight. If Lelouch only has one ally, it would still fulfill the condition; because if that one ally is removed from the fight, then Lelouch would technically have lost 100% of his allies. However, if Lelouch is fighting alone, the the condition can't be fulfilled and the chess player can't be used.**

 **There is a fifth condition that, if fulfilled, allows the Chess player to utilize Cold shoulder and (if the permission condition is fulfilled) Ice out.**

 **Lelouch needs to have a personal grudge against the enemy commander.**


	2. The Prince's Strength

**Chapter 2: The Prince and the Jester**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

(Inside the truck)

Lelouch had landed gracefully after falling into the truck. "Hey I'm in here, can anyone hear me?" Lelouch tried.

" _Halt that vehicle in the name of the empire._ " Lelouch heard from a loudspeaker outside. " _Surrender now and you'll get the chance to defend yourselves in court._ "

'Terrorists huh!' Lelouch thought. 'Option one: if I jump now, then I'll hit the pavement and could very well be shot at. If I use ken, I could take one or the other with only a few cuts and bruises, but both together could cause me actual damage. It's times like this I wish I were an enhancer. Option two: I could kill the terrorists. Not bad, but that could cause the truck to crash again, plus I don't want to have to deal with the military asking questions. Option three: use zetsu to hide and wait to see how things play out and go from there. Yes, that one will have to do… For now.'

Lelouch activated zetsu and moved to a dark corner of the truck.

Just in time too; suddenly, the door to the driver's compartment opened to reveal a seventeen year old girl with red hair.

"Why not just use it here?" Someone asked from the driver's compartment.

"Because that would mean a bloodbath." The girl answered as she ascended a ladder to climb into a large metal structure in the back of the truck.

'That girl! I recognize her.' Lelouch thought.

The girl, now in her fourth generation knightmare Glasgow, launched out of the truck to take on the Britannian military.

"They have their own knightmare frame! The plot thickens." Lelouch mused. "I'd better tell Nunnally I'll be home late tonight." Lelouch said to himself as he pulled out his phone.

Unfortunately, there was no reception.

"No signal, and judging by the change in light, seems they're going through the old subway tunnels to the ghetto. The way things are going, I might actually have to use my hatsu; that's going to be so annoying." Lelouch said.

Suddenly, the truck stopped with a bump.

'This probably isn't the scheduled stop.' Lelouch thought as he scanned the surrounding 15 meters with his en.

"Think it's time for me to make my exit." Lelouch said as he opened the door on the side of the truck.

As Lelouch was walking out, he was noticed by a Britannian soldier who was outside the range of the en scan Lelouch performed.

The soldier quickly ran to the truck to ambush the man he perceived to be a terrorist.

The soldier attempted to attack Lelouch, but Lelouch being a nen user was able to easily counter all of the soldiers moves with just his left arm and while without moving his feet from his current location.

"That's enough mindless murder." The soldier shouted.

"Please, I may have no problem killing my opponents, but don't lower me to the level of these Neanderthals." Lelouch countered.

"Don't lie, I know you're planning to use the poison gas." The soldier shouted.

"First of all, I'm not one these terrorists; secondly, even if I was, what could you do about it? This whole time I've been stopping your strikes with just my left hand, all while my feet haven't moved from their original location." Lelouch explained.

The soldiers eyes widened behind his mask in realization after seeing that Lelouch was right about being able to handle his attacks.

"Third of all, the poison gas in question would have to have been made by Britannia, isn't that right?" Lelouch asked rhetorically.

"Oh God!" The soldier exclaimed in realization.

"If you really want to prevent mindless murder, then why don't you eliminate Britannia." Lelouch finished.

"Lelouch, Lelouch is that you?" The soldier questioned.

Lelouch's eyes widened.

"It's me, Suzaku." The soldier stated, revealing himself to be Lelouch's old friend from before the occupation.

"Suzaku, you became a Britannian soldier?" Lelouch questioned, his voice full of venom.

"What about you?" Suzaku asked back. "You became a…"

Suzaku was interrupted by Lelouch before he could finish his question. "Didn't I already tell you not to lower me like that?"

Suddenly, the large canister inside the truck began to open.

Suzaku, fearing that the poison gas was about to be unleashed, jumped Lelouch to the floor and put his gas mask over his friends face. Lelouch, in his stupor from seeing his old friend, was unable to counter the assault.

Once the large canister was fully opened, it revealed, not a cloud of doom, but a girl with long green hair bound in a straight jacket.

Both young men were shocked at what they saw.

"Poison gas, this girl? What's the meaning of this Suzaku?" Lelouch asked.

"It's what we were told in the briefing, I swear." Suzaku answered.

"Filthy eleven monkey!" Said a new voice.

Lelouch and Suzaku turned to see a battalion of Britannian soldiers.

"Even a full blooded Britannian wouldn't have the authority to do such a thing; let alone an honorary Britannian like you." Shouted the squadron leader.

Suzaku ran up to his commander in an effort to explain himself. "But sir, I was informed it was poison gas."

"No excuses eleven scum… However, in light of your excellent military record, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself." The Captain offered.

The Captain took out his pistol and offered it to Suzaku.

"Kill the terrorist and this incident can be forgotten." The Captain said while gesturing to Lelouch.

Hearing that, Lelouch prepared to summon his armor, the Black king, and his shield, the Black knight.

"But sir, he's not a terrorist, he's just a civilian who got caught up in all this." Suzaku argued.

"Are you ignoring a direct order, Private?" The Captain almost screamed.

'Whatever is so special about this girl, it would be disadvantageous to Suzaku's superiors if knowledge of her got out.' Lelouch thought. 'In a way, she is poison. So toxic, they can't allow any loose ends, including me.'

"Kill him or face the consequences." The Captain shouted.

Suzaku turned back to Lelouch with a smile.

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't follow your orders. I won't kill an innocent civilian." Suzaku said without room for argument.

"That's too bad." The Captain said as he took the pistol back.

The Captain was about to shoot Suzaku in the back. Unfortunately for him and his subordinates, Lelouch had activated gyo in his eyes after realizing they weren't going to let him leave alive.

As Lelouch was watching to see the gunshot he would need to react to, he instead saw that his friend was in immediate danger.

Seeing this, Lelouch unleashed a massive wave of malicious ren, mostly directed at the Captain. Keyword, mostly.

All of the soldiers, including the Captain were paralyzed.

"What… What is this darkness I feel?" The Captain muttered.

Inside the truck, the driver, Nagata, had similar thoughts. He was just about to activate the self-destruct and make the truck explode. He was already bleeding out from the injury he received when the truck stopped. He thought he might as well go out with a bang and take the nearby Britannian military battalion with him.

That was before he felt the wave of pure bloodlust.

"What is this ominous air I feel? Is this the Shinigami looming over me?" Nagata questioned as he pictured a demon like spirit preying on him, waiting for just the right moment to take him.

Several of the soldiers had passed out, some of whom were foaming at the mouth.

Suzaku wasn't that much better off. Lelouch was trying to make his dark ren bypass Suzaku, unfortunately, such a trick was not one of Lelouch's strong points.

Suzaku wasn't getting hit as hard as the others, but he couldn't help but be overcome with a feeling of absolute dread. But, Suzaku was still aware enough to sense where the darkness was coming from.

'Lelouch?' Suzaku thought. 'I know you want Britannia destroyed, but don't tell me you actually made a deal with the devil.'

Lelouch stopped his ren when he saw the Captain fall to his knees; the Captain's dark hair had gone white, his skin pale and wrinkled, and a look of horror on his face.

All of the other soldiers were either unconscious, on their hands and knees, or throwing up. Some doing more than one of these things. The state they were in showed as a testament to their commanders willpower, who got the blunt of the corrupt aura wave.

Suzaku was still standing, but was having trouble catching his breath.

It was only after Lelouch touched him on the shoulder that Suzaku could come to his senses.

"L-Lelouch… W-what was that?" Suzaku asked shakily.

"Sorry about that Suzaku, I'll explain later. For now I think it's time the four of us get out of here." Lelouch spoke.

"Four?" Suzaku asked. He only counted three; himself, Lelouch, and the girl. Who was the fourth?

Lelouch walked over to the truck and opened the door to the drivers compartment to reveal a terrorist bleeding to death.

Lelouch helped him out of the truck and saw where he was bleeding heavily.

"That's not good." Lelouch said. "Let's put some ice on that."

Lelouch put his hand over Nagata's wound and used Cold shoulder over the injury as a makeshift bandage. Not the ideal medical treatment, but it would do, for now.

Nagata retracted from the cold, but was able to handle it after the worst part was over.

"Liquid nitrogen?" Suzaku guessed when he saw the thin layer of ice form over the man's open wound. "Lelouch, you can't help him, he's a terrorist." Suzaku explained as he wobbly walked over to Lelouch, not fully recovered from the malicious ren wave.

"I know we haven't seen each other in a while Suzaku, but do you really believe I haven't thought this through?" Lelouch asked. 'By helping him, I have a terrorist group in my debt. If they are capable of getting a knightmare of all things, then it's worth the trouble. Besides, if Suzaku wants to return to the military after this, capturing a terrorist for interrogation would be a good bet.' Lelouch thought.

Suzaku coincided to his friends logic, knowing Lelouch always has a good strategy in mind.

Suzaku moved to help the girl with the green hair while Lelouch helped the truck driver to his feet.

The four of them began making their way through the tunnels to an exit. Lelouch spread his en to keep an eye open for threats within twenty meters.

(Britannian command center, G-1 base)

"Reports from the advanced squad states that the package has escaped with the aid of whatever it is that they're calling a demon." Said one of the military advisers.

"A demon? If they're going to make excuses, they could at least make it something believable." General Bartley complained.

"Whatever the case, if knowledge of her gets out, then I'll be disinherited." Prince Clovis acknowledged, trying to ignore his growing headache.

Clovis stood up and commanded "As third prince of the holy Britannian empire, I, Clovis la Britannia command you, destroy Shinjuku ghetto, leave no one alive."

(Warehouse in the ghetto, tunnel exit)

"I thank you for helping me." Nagata, who had fully regained consciousness, said to Lelouch.

"Convince your fellow terrorists to let us go home without a fuss, and we'll call it even." Lelouch replied.

"Is that why you saved me? A get out of gunshot free card? Well, I suppose I can't really say I'm surprised." Nagata conceded.

The group stopped when they heard gunshot coming from just ahead, outside the tunnel.

"Did you find them?" Asked the now white haired and wrinkled Captain.

"We only found elevens here, sir." Responded one of the somewhat recovered soldiers.

"Are you sure this is where the tunnel lets out?" The Captain asks.

"It corresponds with our maps of the old city, sir." A soldier answered.

In the next moment, two sounds were heard. The first was the sound of a baby crying; the second sound was gunfire. Both sounds ended simultaneously.

Suzaku couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Those bastards! I don't know what kind of trick they pulled with that dark feeling thing, but we won't be caught off guard a second time." The Captain swore to himself.

At that point, Lelouch's cell phone rang, giving away their position.

"Dammit!" Lelouch cursed as he ignored the call. Cursed not so much in fear, but in annoyance.

(Ashford academy courtyard)

Shirley took a moment to be dumbstruck that her call was ignored.

"That Lulu, where does he get off ignoring me like that." Shirley complained.

(Back at the ghetto)

"Well, well, what a nice stroke of luck. Not a good day to ditch class, school boy." The Captain taunted referring to Lelouch's school uniform.

"I'm pretty sure the school day is over by this point, so I don't really think it can be called ditching at this time." Lelouch countered calmly.

"You did well to make it this far school boy; not surprising, you are Britannian after all. But it's a real miracle for these filthy elevens. But either way, it's the end of the line." The Captain said as he pulled out his gun.

The Captain fired at Lelouch.

It was obvious the bullet was heading for Lelouch's forehead. Lelouch focused ko into his forehead, intending to let the bullet bounce away almost harmlessly.

Unfortunately, the green haired girl was unaware that Lelouch could make part of himself bulletproof.

"He mustn't die." The girl shouted as she ran in front of Lelouch and took the bullet for him. It hit her right in the center of the strange red bird-like symbol on her forehead.

The girl fell to the ground with a thud from the lethal wound to her head.

"Great, now I have to deal with this on my conscience." Lelouch groaned as he crouched down to check the wound.

Suddenly, the should be dead girl reached out and grabbed Lelouch's hand.

Lelouch suddenly saw a number of strange visions. Children being assembled for what looked like a right of passage for a cult; a shrine that one would accredit to being the throne room of God; a great mass that appeared to be the planet Jupiter, plus countless other strange visions.

While seeing these images, Lelouch heard the voice of the should be dead green haired girl.

"You don't want it all to end here do you? You seem to have a reason for living." The girl said.

'What's this? The girl? How is this possible?' Lelouch thought. 'Nen can remain after death, but no nen user can die by gunshot so easily. Could getting shot be part of the ability?' Lelouch wondered.

"I can give you the power you need to continue on. Though you will live among humanity, you shall live like no other. The power of the king will condemn you to a life of solitude. A different time, a different province, a different life. In exchange for the power I offer, I ask that you make my one wish into reality. Do you accept the terms of the contract I offer?" The girl explains.

Lelouch started laughing. "Ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha, HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

The girl was quite shocked at Lelouch's jovial reaction to her life changing offer.

"I have no need for your power, I have power of my own. The terms of your contract are hereby rejected." Lelouch shouted.

Suddenly, Lelouch found himself back in reality, still at the soldier's gunpoint.

"Well now, ain't that just a terrible shame. Our orders were to bring her back alive. It's too bad the terrorists had already tortured her to death before we could arrive." The Captain said. "How does that sound, believable enough?"

"Tell me… How should a Britannian who hates his own country live out his life?" Lelouch asked the soldiers.

"Huh, what are you, some kind of radical?" The Captain responded.

"I suppose that's one way of putting it." Lelouch said. "The definition of a radical is one who commits disastrous and/or destructive behavior due to having an overzealous belief in their ideology. Given what's going to happen next, I think radical may just be the appropriate description of myself." Lelouch smiled.

'What the hell is he saying? What is he up to?' Nagata wondered.

'Lelouch, what's going through your mind? Calling yourself a radical; and what does 'what's going to happen next' mean?' Suzaku pondered.

"What's wrong, why not shoot? After all, your opponent is just a school boy?" Lelouch taunted. "Or have you finally realized that the only ones who should kill, are those who are prepared to be killed, BLACK KING." Lelouch shouted as he conjured his armor.

The armor's ability to create an air of charisma took effect immediately and every one of the soldier's felt this increase of authoritative essence. They had never been so in awe that a feeling this incredible could exist.

"This is where your journey comes to an end." Lelouch decreed as he held his right arm outward and his left arm in front of him.

"Black queen!" Lelouch cried as he summoned his unblockable scythe, the omnipotent reaper, to his right hand. "And Black knight!" Lelouch cried as he summoned his unbreakable barrier, the ever present protection, to his left arm.

"A-all men, fire." The Captain managed to order.

It took a moment, but the soldiers managed to come to their senses and do as their leader ordered.

They shot… And Lelouch blocked every bullet with the Black knight.

As the bullets struck the shield, each of the soldiers received a serious wound to a vital point. They would soon bleed to death if not tended to. This however, did not apply to the soldiers who had already perished from the wounds to locations that meant instant death, such as the heart.

The Captain fell to his knees as he watched his subordinates lose their lives, despite the fact that his opponent didn't even move. It was then that he had an epiphany.

"We never stood a chance." The Captain simply said.

"Afraid not." Lelouch confirmed as he walked toward the Captain with the Black queen raised.

"Just, before you kill me, tell me one thing. What are you?" The Captain asked, having accepted his fate.

"I am… A nen user." Lelouch declared as he swung his scythe downward.

In that moment, the Captain died of bisection, from his right shoulder down to his left hip. Though his clothing remained uncut, as the scythe had simply passed through them and were only soaked in blood as the Captain fell from his knees to the ground.

"How long have you been watching?" Lelouch asked as he turned to the back corner of the warehouse.

Suzaku and Nagata turned to see a creepy pink haired man building a house of cards.

"Entire time. Since you first got separated from Rivalz, actually." Hisoka answered.

"And you couldn't have stepped in?" Lelouch asked.

"You needed the experience." Hisoka replied halfheartedly. "Besides, I wasn't needed for such weak opponents."

"Tell it to the dead baby." Lelouch complained. "So Hisoka, I know you're good at gathering information, think you can tell me exactly what it was that made the girl so important?"

"Let's just say referring to her in the past tense like that isn't appropriate." Hisoka explained.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow behind his helmet.

At that moment, a knightmare frame crashed in through the front of the warehouse.

"What happened, how could all these royal guards be dead?" The pilot, Villetta Nu asked herself after a quick scan of the area.

"Hey, you four, did you kill these soldiers? Answer me dammit!" Villetta shouted over her knightmare's external loudspeaker. She fired a few rounds at the back wall as a warning.

Suzaku and Nagata flinched, Lelouch stayed calm, and Hisoka contemplated on how much fun he might have; which wasn't much, being that it was only a single enemy, and not even a nen user at that.

"Soldiers, not people?" Suzaku muttered.

"You expected something different from a Britannian soldier when dealing with Japanese?" Nagata asked him.

Suzaku could only look at the floor with a grim feeling in his stomach, and not just because the floor was covered in corpses.

"If you wish to survive the next twenty seconds, I suggest you get out here now." Lelouch demanded.

"Who do you think you are, ordering me around?" Villetta angrily demanded in response. Villetta being inside the knightmare was protected from the Black king's charisma generation. Like regular charisma, it pretty much only works in person, except for someone very dumb.

"Fine then, we'll do this the fun way. Don't say I didn't warn you." Lelouch replied as he made his scythe disappear.

In his now free right hand, Lelouch conjured his hammer, the blunt force retribution. "Black rook!"

"What? Where did that big hammer come from, and what happened to the scythe? Is he actually planning to take on a knightmare frame himself with just basic weaponry?" Villetta asked.

Lelouch ran at the war mecha and focused gyo into his legs. Lelouch then jumped at the knightmare and swung his hammer, hitting the knightmare in the middle of the torso.

The 10,000 ton impact of the hammer created a serious shockwave as it hit the large mech. In that instant, two things happened. Villetta coughed up blood as her eyes widened, and her knightmare went flying back a good several hundred meters, through a few buildings even, until finally stopping after crashing into another knightmare.

The other knightmare pilots in the battalion wondering what just happened as Villetta sat unconscious in her extremely damaged knightmare.

Back at the warehouse, "Too easy." Lelouch stated.

Hisoka smiled.

Suzaku watched in shock over what just happened.

"Whoever you are, I like you." Nagata said.

"Clovis ordered a massacre of everyone in the ghetto, terrorist or not. That's how much he didn't want anyone to learn about the girl." Hisoka informed.

"That's not possible. His Majesty wouldn't do something so heinous." Suzaku argued.

"I wasn't talking to you. But if you really need proof of my claim, you only need look outside." Hisoka retorted.

Suzaku flinched, not really wanting to check if the claim was true or not, no matter how much faith he had in the system.

"If that's the situation, then it seems I finally have the starting point I've been waiting for." Lelouch said as he dismissed his armor, hammer, and shield. "But first, there's something I have to check."

Lelouch pulled out his phone and called a friend.

(Ashford academy, girls locker room, post swim team practice)

Shirley answered her phone. "Hello, Lulu?"

"Are you near a TV?" Lelouch asked.

"Hang on." Shirley said as she turned around to look at the miniature television the other members of the girls swim team were watching. "Hey, can I change the channel?"

"To what?" One of the girls asked.

"The news." Lelouch responded, having heard the question. "Is there anything about Shinjuku?" Lelouch asked.

"Just some traffic restrictions." Shirley responded after changing the channel.

"Why is it restricted?" Lelouch asked.

"It doesn't say." Shirley responded.

"Good." Lelouch responded. "Shirley, would you mind letting my sister know I'll be home late tonight? Tell her 'I'm playing a game of extreme chess and the situation is icy'. She'll know what it means."

"Lulu, are you gambling again?" Shirley asked angrily.

"Something like that." Lelouch responded before hanging up the phone.

(Back in the Shinjuku warehouse)

"They're not saying anything about what's going on in Shinjuku, only that it's restricted. Seems they plan to keep things quiet and then release a fabrication that glorifies the military." Lelouch mused.

"They can't do that! It's immoral!" Suzaku protested.

"You've been exposed to the horrors of war Suzaku. One would assume you wouldn't be so naive." Lelouch groaned as he reconjured his Black king. "But that's a battle for another day. If they're not telling anyone about what's happening in Shinjuku, then I can cause as much of a ruckus as I want, without the public learning about myself and my abilities before I intend." Lelouch chimed as he recreated the Black rook in his right hand and Black knight in his left.

"This should be fun. Are you coming Hisoka?" Lelouch asked as he walked out of the warehouse.

"Nah, you go on ahead, I killed quite a few soldiers on the way here, I think I've had my fill, for now. Besides, I'd like to keep an eye out for something." Hisoka answered.

"Ok." Lelouch replied, knowing from experience, with Hisoka, it's better to not ask questions.

"By the way Lelouch, I give you permission to destroy the Shinjuku ghetto." Hisoka said, fulfilling the required condition of Lelouch's ability, Ice out.

"What? What do you mean destroy the ghetto?" Nagata asked.

"Thanks Hisoka, but I doubt I'll need it." Lelouch said as he left.

(With Kallen in the red Glasgow and the Britannian soldiers chasing her)

"Arg, dammit." Kallen screamed as she tried to get away from the two knightmare frames chasing her.

"You won't get away. The best thing you can do is hold still and give us an easier target." Shouted Jeremiah Gottwald.

Suddenly, as if fate decided it wasn't time for Kallen to die. Another Sutherland came flying their way and crashed into Jeremiah's subordinate. The cockpit was crushed before the pilot could eject.

Jeremiah looked to where the other knightmare had come from and saw, running toward them, a man in a black suit of armor, holding a large war hammer in his right hand and a fairly large shield with a horse head on the front on his left arm.

The man lifted his hammer and smashed it to the ground. The hammer hitting the ground created a powerful shockwave that made the roads crumble and revealed the subway tunnels below the streets. The shock was so intense, several nearby buildings collapsed in on themselves.

Jeremiah couldn't wrap his head around what just happened.

After falling to the subway level, the black armor man ran towards Jeremiah's knightmare, his hammer once again ready to strike.

Seeing the coming danger, Jeremiah's military training kicked in and he quickly activated the cockpit ejection to escape the hammer's force.

The cockpit rocketed away and Jeremiah thought he was safe. The rockets died down and the parachute deployed.

Then something went wrong.

As if the cockpit had been strapped to an invisible bungee cord, it was yanked off of its downward float and slammed into the ground, in a movement similar to someone throwing another over their shoulder; one moment cruising downward, then the next, pulled forward and crashing into the earth.

After Jeremiah thanked the man who invented the seatbelt, he exited the cockpit to try and figure out what just happened.

After taking a few steps forward, Jeremiah felt a tap on his shoulder. Jeremiah turned to see a clown like man with pink flame style hair.

"Hi." The clown said before punching Jeremiah in the face.

"You used to be one of Marianne's royal guards. You may have information I can use. The sooner he gets what he wants, the sooner he fulfills his end of the deal." Was all Jeremiah heard before passing out.

(Command center of the G-1 base)

"What is the meaning of this? Why are so many knightmare's being shown as lost?" Clovis screamed.

"We're losing an average of five to seven knightmare's every twenty seconds. Reports from surviving soldiers say the cause is a man in black armor wielding a large hammer." Bartley panicked.

"Well why aren't the soldiers doing something about him?" Clovis angrily asked.

"They've been trying your Highness, but reports claim that they all somehow ended up dead in their cockpits. Some full of bullet holes but no bullets, some impaled with nothing impaling them, some smashed into pulp by nothing. I'm beginning to think that report about a demon might not have been so far fetched after all." Bartley whined.

"What a mess?" Clovis stated.

"Quite the predicament you've found yourselves in." Lloyd stated as his face appeared on the monitor.

"Lloyd, please tell me your calling to inform me that you've perfected some new weapon or something." Clovis cried in desperation.

"I only require your permission to use it, your Excellency, and please, would you be so kind as to use its proper name, Lancelot." Lloyd requested.

(Back with Lelouch, surrounded by destroyed knightmare's)

"I've really been giving myself a workout today, I think I've only got about a third of my aura left. It's a good thing they were trying to keep this operation under wraps. I don't think I could have handled it if they called in backup." Lelouch complained.

"Clovis thinks he can just slaughter whomever he wishes. I think not. Time for a nice family reunion." Lelouch said as he turned toward the direction of the G-1 base, intent on confronting Clovis.

At that moment, Lelouch saw something big, something white and gold, something headed right for him at somewhat high speed.

"Now what?" Lelouch complained as he prepared for another battle and charged at the new knightmare.

(Britannian mobile tech lab)

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Countless frames and pilots have already been brutally assaulted." Cecile asked.

"You needn't worry, the pilot ranked second in his class and has been informed to capture, not harm. The reports indicate that the assaulted soldiers were the ones who attacked him, a taste of their own medicine, if you will. That combined with the super advanced Lancelot, we can't lose." Lloyd answered confidently.

(Lelouch vs Lancelot)

Lelouch swung his Black rook at what he assumed was a new model of knightmare.

The Lancelot blocked the coming impact with its blaze luminous shields.

The blaze luminous prevented the knightmare from being destroyed, however, Lancelot was nowhere near strong enough to withstand 10,000 tons of high speed impact. It was knocked back several hundred meters.

"A force field, huh. Looks like I will need this." Lelouch said as the knightmare charged at him again.

In preparation for what he was going to do next, he made his Black rook and Black knight disappear.

(Back with Lloyd)

"What's this, his weapons disappeared? Is he surrendering? After withstanding only one attack?" Lloyd asked confused.

(Lelouch vs Lancelot)

Lelouch spread his arms outward and cried "Ice out!"

Two jets of frost aura launched from his hands and hit the environment around him. The freeze began to spread across the area and stopped seventy meters away from Lelouch, leaving thirty one minutes until the ice melted.

The most important part of what just happened being that the Lancelot was completely frozen, just twenty meters away from Lelouch.

Everyone was having different reactions about what just happened.

"I thought so." Hisoka laughed.

"So much for the Liquid nitrogen theory, there's no way he could have had that much on him." Suzaku fearfully mused.

"Damn, just who is this jerk, some kinda mutant?" Kallen asked.

"NOOOO, MY LANCELOT, MY PRECIOUS LANCELOT HAS BEEN TURNED INTO AN ICE POP." Lloyd screamed.

"The pilot's vitals are stable. It seems he wasn't frozen inside the cockpit. Unfortunately, all the wiring is likely to need replacing." Cecile analyzed.

"It's official, we're doomed." Bartley conceded.

Clovis was in the midst of an emotional limbo, trying to decide how to react.

"So it didn't matter if we allowed him to go or not, he just didn't want to have to go through the trouble." Nagata realized.

Lelouch reconjured his hammer, the Black rook.

"This ice can function as my en. Both a blessing and a curse. This is going to give me such a headache." Lelouch said as he raised his hammer and swung down on the ice.

The ice carried the shockwave all across itself. Said shockwave causing the supposedly unstoppable Lancelot to break and crumble apart along with all the other ice.

It was then that Lloyd fainted in despair.

"Well now we need to replace the wiring, the armor, and the literally everything else." Cecile commented.

Back on the battlefield, a man in a pilot uniform had fallen to the ground after the knightmare frame around him had been frozen and shattered. He looked fearfully at the armored figure walking toward him… Waddling toward him as he had given himself a splitting headache when he shattered the ice.

"Please, please don't kill me." The pilot begged as he tried to crawl away from the armored figure who was being called a demon.

Lelouch dismissed his hammer and said "Fine! You should consider yourself lucky I have a mental connection to the ice. Shattering it like that really gave me a headache. Nothing a good night's sleep can't fix, I suppose. But since you did try to stand against me, I do have to give you some form of punishment."

Lelouch held out his right hand and conjured the eight crippling vengeances, his pistol, the Black pawn.

"There is no such thing as no choice. You chose to try and combat me." Lelouch said as he pointed the pistol at the center of the pilots chest and pulled the trigger.

The pilot thought he was going to die from a bullet to the chest. But there were two things the pilot didn't expect. The bullet was made of emitted aura and thus could not be seen by the non nen using pilot.

For a single instant, the pilot thought he was safe, that the gun had jammed; until he felt what seemed to be a bullet hit him in the torso.

The second thing that he didn't expect was that instead of meeting the Grim Reaper for an appointment about a bullet through the chest, he only lost the feeling in his right arm. It seemed to stop perfectly at his shoulder.

"My arm, I can't feel my arm." The pilot stuttered after partially recovering from the shock.

The pilot took notice that the armored demon had already walked past him. His back now turned to the pilot.

The pilot saw this as an opportunity. Using his left hand, he grabbed the pistol from his belt and aimed it at the knightmare destroyer.

"Don't even think about it, unless you want me to cripple another limb." The armored man said, still walking.

"What, b-but how…?" The pilot stammered as he dropped the gun.

"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? I have a mental connection to the ice; the ice you're sitting on." Lelouch explained.

The pilot looked down to see the the shards of ice that now littered the area, still functioning as a rudimentary version of Lelouch's en, sensing any disturbance it touches. Lelouch didn't know exactly what the man was doing, but with his intellect, it wasn't hard to figure out.

As the pilot collapsed in despair, Lelouch dismissed the Black pawn and made his way to the G-1 base where Clovis could be found.

All of the knightmare's in Shinjuku had already been destroyed by the Black rook, including the ones assigned to guard the prince and the frames maintaining the encirclement around the ghetto. They had foolishly been deployed into battle to support the undestroyed knightmare's.

As Lelouch arrived at the base, he reconjured his Black queen in his right hand, no longer needing the hammer to fight.

As Lelouch approached, the guards prepared their guns to fire on the armored figure. However in the blink of an eye, the weapon user disappeared and reappeared behind the guards, still walking toward the entrance of the base.

"I hate to admit it, but it seems Hisoka was right about not being fully reliant on aura. That gym membership really paid off, even if the aura was extremely involved." Lelouch muttered to himself as all of the guards collapsed and bled out from blade wounds, courtesy of the Black queen.

After entering the base, Lelouch made his way to the command center. Once he was right outside the door, he conjured his chain, the punishment of binding loyalty, the Black bishop to his left hand.

"The only ones in there with Clovis are the one who have truly proven themselves to the empire. Such easy prey for the Black bishop." Lelouch mused.

Lelouch opened the door and sent his chain in to do its job. Coiling around one victim and then continued to coil around the next.

After the chain had a moment to work, Lelouch walked in to see on his right, all of the military advisers wrapped in his chain, and on his left, the only one not wrapped in the chain, prince Clovis. More accurately, a very scared version of the artist prince.

"I never liked people who would die for their cause. I much prefer the people who would sooner think their way through a problem, rather than try to take their enemy with them. Fortunately, I have a way to deal with such people." Lelouch stated as he activated the Black bishop's power.

Bartley and the other high ranking soldiers all screamed in sheer agony as they were all constricted to death. Blood gushing out of their mouths as the sound of breaking bones filled the air.

"And then there were two." Lelouch said as he dismissed the Black bishop out of existence and turned to Clovis.

"Here's what's going to happen, Clovis. If you want me to reward you with a quick death rather than the slow torture you deserve for all the lives you ordered be snuffed, you will make an announcement throughout the ghetto. You will order a cease fire and that any further death and destruction of property will not be tolerated. You will also order that everyone be given medical treatment without discrimination no matter what their race. Do you think you can handle that?" Lelouch ordered as he raised the Black queen, which was still in his right hand.

Clovis did as ordered and made the announcement over the G-1 loudspeaker.

After the order had been given to end the fighting, Clovis turned back to his guest.

"Are you satisfied?" Clovis asked.

"Very." Lelouch answered. "But not completely."

"So what now, shall we sing a few ballads, a nice cup of tea, or perhaps a friendly game of chess?" Clovis asked sarcastically.

"You wish to play another round of chess after I've already beaten you so thoroughly." Lelouch questioned.

Clovis raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"The blade of the Black queen carved through your troops, the blunt force of the Black rook destroyed the knightmare frames, and the Black bishop took care of your most trusted allies." Lelouch explained.

"So you named your weapons after chess pieces, quite the concept. Is there some deep reason for that or was it just a whim?" Clovis asked.

"You could say it has a deeper meaning. My older brother and I used to play chess together, although, I would always win. You remember, don't you Clovis? Those days in the Aries villa?" Lelouch question.

"Who are you?" Clovis asked with widened eyes.

"My name is…" Lelouch started.

Lelouch took a few steps forward and started using in to make the helmet of the Black king vanish, revealing his face.

"Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh prince of the holy Britannian empire, eldest son of the late empress consort Marianne, and seventeenth in line for the throne. Version 2.0, now with superpowers." Lelouch finished.

"Lelouch? We all thought you were dead." Clovis questioned.

"Dead? Why I'm probably one of the most alive people on the planet. My body is overflowing with life energy." Lelouch chuckled.

"I-I'm overjoyed Lelouch; I had heard you perished seven years ago when Japan was brought into the fold. We must depart for the homeland right away." Clovis stuttered with a desperate smile.

"Really, that's the card you're trying to play?" Lelouch asked. "That's your last desperate move, right? Even you couldn't be that much of an idiot. Then again…"

Clovis could only stare in confusion.

"Apparently, you could, and you are." Lelouch grumbled. "Have you not been paying attention to what's been going on today?"

Clovis gasped as he remembered what the armored figure, now known to be Lelouch, had been doing all afternoon.

"I will return to the homeland big brother, just as soon as I've built up a military force capable of bringing it to its knees." Lelouch stated threateningly. "I figure that it's only fitting that the emperor himself be the one to deal with the most extreme teenage rebellion of all time, and it will be murder on him." Lelouch jokes.

"Lelouch, you can't be serious." Clovis uttered fearfully.

"Ow, I'm very serious. Just as serious as I want answers." Lelouch informed, more serious now. "They made it look like the work of terrorists, but the truth is obvious. My mother was born a commoner, yet still found favor with the emperor. The other consorts held her in spite. I know you people killed my mother. I want the details so I can take my revenge."

Lelouch activated a small en to keep track of Clovis's answers. When you lie, your body makes subtle twitches. With en, Lelouch would sense said muscle disturbances.

"It wasn't me. I swear I had nothing to do with it." Clovis screamed.

Lelouch's en told him that Clovis was being truthful.

"I believe you." Lelouch stated.

Clovis relaxed I bit.

"Do you know who was responsible?" Lelouch asked.

"Our brother, second prince Schneizel, and sister, second princess Cornelia. They might know." Clovis answered.

"They were at the center of this?" Lelouch asked.

"I don't know." Clovis answered.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, which made Clovis nervous.

"You don't, do you." Lelouch admitted. His en telling him that Clovis didn't lie.

Lelouch deactivated his en, no longer needing it.

"You've given me a lead Clovis, and for that I'm grateful, now let's move on to your punishment." Lelouch decided.

"Punishment?" Clovis asked while eyeing the scythe that was still in Lelouch's hand.

"Human experimentation and massacre. Did you think those things would just be forgotten?" Lelouch explained.

"But Lelouch, they were only elevens." Clovis pleaded.

"Only elevens? You're not helping your case Clovis. They were human beings, same as you, and same as me." Lelouch countered.

Clovis's eyes widened as Lelouch grabbed his arm.

"Farewell Clovis, I would ask you to give my regards to my mother, but you will obviously be sent to the other place." Lelouch said half-jokingly.

"Lelouch please, we may have different mothers, but we're still blood." Clovis begged.

"Anyone who would commit such atrocities for their own gain, is not someone I would call family. I hereby disown you as my brother. Cold shoulder." Lelouch spoke and used his transmutation frost to completely freeze Clovis. The prince was frozen with a look of fear on his face.

Lelouch raised his scythe and said "For what it's worth, my bitter heart longs for those kinder days."

Lelouch swung his Black queen downward.

As Lelouch was walking home, having already dismissed his Black king and Black queen, he began to complain. "I'm almost completely tapped out of aura. I need to learn to use my nen more sparingly. Then again, I was wearing my school uniform, so I wasn't at full strength. Oh well, I'll figure it out later. I just hope my dinner isn't cold by the time I get home."

 **So, yes, Nunnally knows. And yes Suzaku saw the whole thing. It's a new take, Hisoka being there is probably going to cause all sorts of divergences. Change is to be expected.**

 **That part at the end about Lelouch being weakened by his school uniform. Nen is strengthened by one's willpower and mental state. Wearing clothing one sees as 'their style' betters the wearers mental state and thus, strengthens their nen. So yes, wearing his uniform weakens him.**

 **Hisoka taking Jeremiah for questioning, don't worry, the story will be back on track. I'll explain in the coming chapters. Just stay with me. Okay.**

 **Look, I'm happy that so many people are favoriting me, but could you please leave a review. I could really use the feedback.**

 **Negative feedback not accepted. Ha ha ha!**


	3. The Prince's Beginning

**Chapter 3: The Prince and the Jester**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

(Ashford academy campus)

Lelouch unlocked the door to the place he called home. By this time, it was already dark out.

After closing the door behind him, Lelouch saw his beloved little sister, Nunnally, sitting at the dining table waiting for him. Her eyes shut tight.

"Welcome home Lelouch, you were out late." Nunnally said in a way that sounded innocent but was obviously a scold.

"In my defense, I called Shirley to let you know I wouldn't be home for a while." Lelouch countered.

"While we're on the subject Lelouch, why did you ask her about what the news was saying about Shinjuku? What happened there today?" Nunnally questioned.

"It's kind of a long story." Lelouch answered.

"Does that story involve the whole thing being Hisoka's fault? It certainly wouldn't surprise me." Nunnally groaned.

"This again? Why are you so against him Nunnally? I would think you of all people would be more respectful of him. It was Hisoka's aura baptism that opened the aura nodes in your eyes and restored your vision, and it was Hisoka who taught you how to use your affinity for manipulation type nen, thus giving you the power to once again use your legs." Lelouch reminded.

"I haven't forgotten Lelouch, and believe me, I'm very grateful for all he's done for us." Nunnally assured while standing up from her chair and opening her eyes. "There's just something about him that rubs me the wrong way."

"He's a mass-murdering sadist who dresses like a clown, something would be wrong if you didn't find him off putting." Lelouch countered. "That doesn't change all the good he's done for us. He did what no doctor in the world could. He healed you. He taught us how to slow the aging process, we're going to be around for centuries Nunnally, and even in our latest years, we'll still have the energy and strength of the average teenager, and that's a worst case scenario. He gave me the power I need to avenge mother's murder, and make this world a safer and happier place, just like you've always wanted."

"The goal may be noble, but I just can't bring myself to accept such methods Lelouch." Nunnally explained.

"We've been over this Nunnally, you won't have to get involved. Only I'll have to get my hands bloody. Be mad at me if you want, scold me even. It won't change that my actions will result in the greater good." Lelouch countered.

"And what if you fail, what then?" Nunnally asked.

"Then the world won't become any worse than it already is now. How could it be worse?" Lelouch answered.

"No matter how you might look at it Nunnally, our options for the future are very limited. This is the best course of action I can take for the both of us. If nothing else, I can at least carve out a name for myself in the stone of history, one that the sands of time will never wear away. A legend that all will remember forever more, that I put up a fight and caused them to at least waver." Lelouch announced.

Nunnally knew her brother couldn't and wouldn't be talked out of this.

"Think I should get to bed." Lelouch said as he went to his bedroom to sleep.

(Ashford student council meeting room, the next day)

"I know you fell asleep Lelouch, your hand stopped moving." Milly scolded after hitting Lelouch in the head with a rolled up stack of papers.

"And you couldn't have asked me first?" Lelouch asked with annoyance.

"Listen up everyone, we only have a day to balance the extracurricular budget, so get your rears in gear and start calculating." Milly demanded.

"And whose fault is it that we have so little time?" Lelouch asked. "You could have announced the budget problem days ago."

"Too bad she didn't wait an extra day, it would have been too late and we could have given up." Rivalz noted.

"We probably still could." Lelouch mentioned.

"GUTS!" Milly shouted.

"You really should stop with that 'guts' spell of yours, it's a real turnoff." Lelouch complained.

"The Pres. is right you know. If we don't figure out this budget, the equestrian club will charge in here on horseback." Rivalz joked.

"That's not funny Rivalz, we need to sign paperwork, not sing a bunch of stupid puns." Shirley scolded.

"I don't think that was a pun. A pun is wordplay." Lelouch countered.

"I like your display of excellence, Shirley." Milly complimented.

"It's the enthusiasm one gains from being part of an athletics club." Shirley stated proudly.

"That's not what I meant." Milly explained. "You're a ten. Things are shaping up nicely, from what I've seen in the girls bathroom anyway."

"You perv!" Shirley screamed.

(Ashford academy history classroom, a few minutes later)

The members of the student council were walking into class after finally getting the club activities budget balanced.

A few students were watching the news when the members of the student council walked in. The broadcast in question involved a major battle that had occurred in Shinjuku the other day.

"Shinjuku?" Shirley asked, turning to Lelouch.

"I was near the ghetto at the time. I wanted to see if the press could actually be trusted for once. Apparently not!" Lelouch answered casually.

"The eleven terrorist group stole a large canister of poison gas that was scheduled for proper disposal. The terrorist seemed to possess a supply of bombs leftover from the war seven years ago, as well as a supply of liquid nitrogen charges. The leader of these criminals seems to be a man who wears a black suit of armor and carries a large war hammer." The anchor announced.

'Bombs leftover from the war? Is that what they came up with to explain the damage my Black rook did to the ghetto? Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter.' Lelouch thought. 'It's strange, they don't seem to be mentioning anything about the death of Clovis. They probably don't want to say anything until such a time as the announcement wouldn't cause too much anarchy. Either after they find and capture the killer, or when a new viceroy has been assigned, whichever comes first. Until then, it seems to be business as usual.'

Lelouch took his seat and waited for class to begin.

(Britannian military base infirmary)

Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald had just awoken on a hospital bed, his trusted colleague, Villetta Nu by his side, having been waiting for him to wake up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living Lord Jeremiah." Villueta greeted.

"Villueta? What happened?" Jeremiah asked with a raspy voice.

"You were found just outside the viceroy's palace, and you were in very bad shape." Villueta said while pulling back the bed covers to reveal that Jeremiah's body was covered in bandages.

"The damage wasn't just physical. You were in a state of psychotic panic. You kept babbling something about a clown with pink hair, and some nonsense about playing cards. How you ended up in that state is beyond me." Villueta explained.

"The last thing I remember is ejecting out of my knightmare frame, the rest is a blur." Jeremiah confessed. "How did things turn out in Shinjuku?"

"Not good, the terrorists got away, and on top of that, prince Clovis and his top officers were all found dead. The strange thing is that the prince's body was found frozen solid, and so far, the only clue we have is that his head was split in half, so we know the murder weapon was a blade." Villueta explained.

Jeremiah despaired at hearing this. "So, once again, I failed to protect the Royal family."

"Tell me Villueta, has a new viceroy been assigned yet?" Jeremiah asked.

"No, my lord. We haven't even announced the death of Clovis yet. Though we have informed the emperor, so the candidates for a new viceroy are most likely being considered as we speak." Villueta answered.

"And you said there are currently no lead's as to the identity of the killer." Jeremiah asked.

"None." Villueta confirmed.

"That's all I needed to know." Jeremiah said as he got out of the bed and started wobbly walking toward the door.

"What do you think your doing? The doctor said you would need at least ten days before you can even leave the infirmary." Villueta scolded.

"You said so yourself Villueta, the prince and all of his top officers are dead. As leader of the purebloods, I'm next in line to run this country until a new viceroy is officially appointed. I failed to prevent the prince's murder, the least I can do is make sure his country stays afloat, and take over the investigation. This crime will not go unpunished, not again." Jeremiah explained as he walked out the door.

"Somehow, I just know this is going to end badly." Villueta mused as she subconsciously rubbed her own bandages for the rib bones she fractured when her knightmare got hammered.

(Ashford academy classroom)

Class was just about to begin when Lelouch looked over and saw a group of friends crowding around a redheaded girl who hadn't come to class in a while.

Lelouch recognized the redhead as the Glasgow pilot from Shinjuku.

'I knew she was familiar. She's a student at Ashford. Hisoka always says that a few fun twists are what make life worth living.' Lelouch thought.

"See something you like?" Rivalz asked.

"Maybe." Lelouch answered. "Synopsis, go!"

"Her name is Kallen Stadtfeld. I heard she's super sick, so she hardly ever comes to school. Despite her poor attendance, her grades are top of the class. She comes from the elite Stadtfeld family, so she's well bred, and rolling in cash." Rivalz explained. "You sure know how to pick 'em buddy."

"You're summary of her seems to be a bit lacking. Let's see if I can fill in the blanks." Lelouch chuckled, now with a new goal in mind.

(Ashford academy courtyard, lunch period)

Kallen was eating lunch with her friends when a bee flew by.

"Aah, a bee!" One of the girls screamed.

"Quick, let's get out of here!" Yelled another.

Kallen ran away to the nearby bushes, but the bee had followed her.

"Damn, why the hell is there a bee following me. I wasn't even the one eating the honey coated cinnamon buns." Kallen complained.

"I hate this, I'm sick of acting like a freaking invalid." Kallen groaned as she was about to kill the pesky bug.

Suddenly, the insect changed direction. Instead of buzzing around Kallen, it flew toward another student and landed on his extended pointer finger.

"I'm afraid I have to disagree. Timidity looks absolutely lovely on you." Lelouch countered.

'Crap, he heard me!' Kallen thought with worry.

Lelouch looked to the bee and said "I'm afraid you're not welcome here little friend. You and the other members of your hive are welcome to explore the flower gardens in the area, but not the areas around the gardens, not the populated areas anyway. Share this word with your fellows, and don't let any serpent tell you different, Eve." Lelouch sent the bee on his way, back to his job of collecting nectar and spreading pollen.

Lelouch turned back to Kallen.

"I don't believe I've introduced myself, I'm Lelouch Lamperouge. You're Kallen Stadtfeld, correct?" Lelouch asked.

"I am, what do you want?" Kallen demanded.

"I simply wanted to compliment you on your knightmare piloting skill. You must be incredibly capable to make an old Glasgow last that long." Lelouch answered as he pulled an item from his back pocket; a hammer he borrowed from the woodshop club.

Kallen's eyes widened as she realized what the hammer meant.

"Hold on, you were…?" Kallen asked.

"I was. The man in the black armor." Lelouch confirmed.

"Then you're the britannian that Nagata told us about. The one who can magically create weapons and has ice powers." Kallen deduced.

"So your friend made it after all. That's good to hear. I had hoped he would receive proper medical treatment, seeing as my frost isn't the best bandage." Lelouch chuckled.

"The question now is, why would a Britannian turn on his own people?" Kallen asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Lelouch countered.

"Hey, Lulu!" Shirley called from a second floor window.

Lelouch turned to find out what he was being called for.

"You're needed in the chemistry lab. Hurry up!" Shirley called.

"Oh, that's right, it's my turn to set up for class." Lelouch thought out loud.

Lelouch turned back to Kallen and said "It seems we'll have to continue this conversation later. See you then."

Lelouch walked away, leaving an uneasy Kallen behind.

(Later that evening, home of Lelouch and Nunnally)

Sayoko was demonstrating the art of origami to Nunnally.

"Oh, it's a bird!" Nunnally gazed in amazement at the folded paper.

"A crane to be precise, Mistress." Sayoko elaborated. "You know, according to legend, if you fold a thousand paper cranes and make a wish, then your wish will come true."

"Wow, that's so amazing! The Japanese are so skillful, and so magical too." Nunnally expressed with wonder.

"It's getting awfully late, what should we do about dinner?" Sayoko asked.

Nunnally just smiled and said "I think we should wait, Lelouch promised that we would eat dinner together tonight."

Nunnally turned to the door and said "He's here!"

"Is that sibling bond, or are you using en?" Sayoko asked.

At that moment, Lelouch walked through the door.

Later, at dinner, Nunnally was relaying to Lelouch what she had learned about origami.

"By folding the paper in different ways, you can make birds, tigers, bugs, and just about anything." Nunnally explained enthusiastically.

As Nunnally was talking, she began coughing as a bit of mashed potato dripped from her mouth. Coughing being the body's natural defense against choking, and talking while eating brought Nunnally to this point.

"Hey, take it easy Nunnally, you don't have to tell me everything at once. I promise you, I'm not going anywhere." Lelouch assured.

"Sorry big brother!" Nunnally apologized. "Sayoko told me that if you fold a thousand paper cranes and make a wish, then it'll come true."

"You certainly are enthusiastic about this. Could this perhaps be the idiosyncrasy that you need to develop a combat hatsu?" Lelouch questioned.

"I told you before Lelouch, I don't want a hatsu that can hurt people. I'm perfectly happy with just walking again." Nunnally argued.

"Come on Nunnally! You're a manipulator, you don't have to hurt someone to control them." Lelouch countered.

"Why are you so obsessed with me developing a combat hatsu. Sayoko doesn't have a hatsu and I don't see you pestering her." Nunnally groaned.

"I just don't want you to be defenseless if I'm not around Nunna. As for Sayoko, she's an enhancer. Everything she does in combat is part of her hatsu." Lelouch stated.

"That's true!" Sayoko chimed in. "Learning to use my affinity for enhancement type aura has opened up countless new possibilities for me. I can lift more than twenty times my own weight, run faster than a jungle cat, my skin is bulletproof, and I'm still an amatuer. Your manipulation affinity is the most fearsome type of nen, so I think you should take advantage of that."

"Don't push me. I don't want to be a fighter." Nunnally demanded.

"Huh, fine! I can't force you to develop a hatsu." Lelouch admitted.

Nunnally smiled and nodded, thinking she had finally won.

"Just like how you can't make me drop the subject." Lelouch continued with a smirk.

"Lelouch, you tricked me!" Nunnally screamed.

"Yes, yes I did!" Lelouch confirmed.

Nunnally just sat there pouting.

"Hey, come on, I'm sorry! I might have some fun with you every now and again, but I swear, I will never lie to you." Lelouch promised.

"You really promise?" Nunnally questioned.

"Of course." Lelouch confirmed.

Nunnally wrapped her pinky finger around Lelouch's. "Sayoko taught me this, it's called a Japanese promise. _'Cross my heart, hope to die, eat a thousand needles if I lie'_." Nunnally sang.

"Well if that's the case, I'll never have to eat any needles. That's a relief… of a burden I didn't know I was carrying, but still." Lelouch chuckled.

(The next day, Ashford rooftop balcony)

Kallen was on the phone, talking to Kaname Ohgi, the acting leader of the rebel group she belonged to.

"I never expected to run into the armor guy. At least not here of all places, much less so soon." Kallen admitted.

"I want you to try and do your besttoget him on our side Kallen. If we have him backing us up, there's no telling how far we could go." Ohgi instructed over the phone.

"And what if he isn't interested? He could kill me." Kallen asked.

"I doubt he would do that. He sided against the Britannian military in Shinjuku when he could have just cleared a path for himself." Ohgi explained.

"Fine, if I have to." Kallen conceded.

"Thanks Kallen! By the way, Naoto would be happy to know you're back in school." Ohgi mused and then hung up.

"Humph, easy to ask when it's not your life on the line." Kallen muttered as she headed inside for the start of class.

(A few hours later, after last period)

Kallen was talking to her friends while putting her books away. Lelouch walked over to make a request.

"Pardon me, do you think you could spare a minute?" Lelouch asked.

"Certainly, I was wondering when you would ask." Kallen replied.

As Kallen's friends swooned over what they assumed that conversation meant, Lelouch and Kallen made their way to somewhere where they could talk privately.

(Ashford student council clubhouse)

"I didn't even know this place existed!" Kallen admitted.

"This is the clubhouse for the student council, though, its original purpose was to be a ballroom for formal occasions." Lelouch explained.

"And we won't be disturbed here?" Kallen asked.

"That's the basic idea." Lelouch confirmed.

"Has anyone seen the lab data?" Nina asked.

"I've got it!" Rivalz announced.

"Well, so much for privacy." Lelouch groaned.

As Rivalz, Nina, and Shirley made their way down the stairs, Milly entered pushing a cart full of food. She placed dishes of pork, crustations, and stew on one of the tables in the room.

"Milly, what is all this?" Lelouch asked.

"You don't know? We're celebrating Kallen's introduction as a member of the student council. Isn't that why you brought her here?" Milly explained.

"Actually, I brought her here for more… personal reasons." Lelouch explained.

"What!" Shirley screamed while blushing.

"Well anyway, since Kallen would have a hard time in a regular club due to her poor health, it was decided that she should join the student council. It was my grandfather's idea." Milly explained.

"The principal's?" Lelouch asked.

"I'm here!" Nunnally called as she walked in carrying a couple of pizza boxes.

"This is Lelouch's little sister, Nunnally." Milly introduced to Kallen.

"I'm still in the middle school group, so I can't be a member of the council yet." Nunnally explained.

"That's okay, you're an honorary member in our books." Rivalz comforted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kallen." Nunnally introduced.

"The pleasure is all mine." Kallen responded.

"Now then, how about a toast to commemorate this occasion." Rivalz suggested as he put a bottle of champagne on the table.

"Is that champagne?" Nina asked. "But we're all underage."

"Come on, who's gonna know?" Rivalz tried to convince.

"Oh no you don't! Hand it over." Shirley demanded.

Shirley tried to take the bottle, but Rivalz had a different idea in mind.

"Here, catch!" Rivalz called as he tossed the bottle to Lelouch.

On instinct from his nen training, Lelouch caught the bottle with ease.

"Don't think you can get away with this either Lulu." Shirley stated.

Shirley started climbing on top of Lelouch to get the bottle. In her efforts, she accidentally popped the cork. The cork went flying at Kallen, who easily deflected the projectile. The geyser of champagne that followed the cork out of the bottle was not so easily blocked. Kallen had gotten completely drenched.

(Clubhouse bathroom)

Kallen was washing off the champagne that had covered her body while her clothing was in the wash.

"Argh, so annoying, this is why I hate Britannians." Kallen muttered.

That's when someone knocked on the door.

"It's Lelouch, I brought you a change of clothes. Can I come in?" Lelouch asked.

"Sure, I'm behind the shower curtain." Kallen allowed.

"I brought you some of my clothes." Lelouch informed. "I hope that's alright."

"It's fine!" Kallen answered. "So you went all the way to the boys dorm? I'm surprised you got back so fast."

"Actually, I live here." Lelouch corrected.

"Pardon?" Asked Kallen.

"Up until about a year ago, Nunnally was completely blind, and wheelchair bound. Due to her condition, it would have been hard for her to live in the dorms. So the principal let us stay here as a favor. By the time I met someone capable of restoring my sister's eyes and legs, we were already settled." Lelouch explained.

"Hold on, someone capable of curing blindness and paraplegia?" Kallen asked. "That sounds less like a doctor and more like a miracle worker."

"The treatment was more like physical therapy than a miracle." Lelouch countered. "Well, I'll leave you to your shower."

"Wait a minute!" Kallen requested.

Lelouch turned back to Kallen to see what was expected of him.

"Could you hand me that pouch?" Kallen asked as she stuck her hand outside the curtain to point towards a little pink pouch that was lying next to the sink.

"The one with the knife hidden inside? No, I think it would be better for me to not let you have it." Lelouch answered after scanning the pouch with his en.

Kallen's eyes widened hearing that Lelouch knew about the hidden blade.

"Speaking of weapons, why terrorism?" Lelouch questioned.

"It's because I'm Japanese, though technically, I'm half Britannian." Kallen admitted.

"A half-blood huh!" Lelouch responded with a smile.

"What about you? Why did you fight the empire?" Kallen asked

"In simple terms, it's a grudge." Lelouch answered cryptically.

(After Kallen was done in the shower)

Lelouch and Kallen were walking through the hallway. Lelouch was explaining what being a member of the student council would entail.

"It's mostly just paperwork, and planning the social events." Lelouch explained.

"Like the cultural festival?" Kallen asked.

"And the crossdresser's ball, the absolute silence party, and swimsuit day. That last one is a favorite for the majority of the male students for obvious reasons." Lelouch pointed out.

"Seriously?" Kallen asked.

"Blame our president! Milly is nuts! Even squirrels have a strong aversion to her." Lelouch explained.

Lelouch and Kallen walked back into the main room of the clubhouse to find the rest of the council was watching television.

"Oh Lulu, it's terrible, they're saying prince Clovis as been murdered." Shirley cried.

Lelouch's eyes widened. 'Already? This is very strange! Was there already another member of the royal family in the country who could take over as the new viceroy?'

The news cut to a speech by margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, the leader of the purebloods, and acting commander of area eleven until a new viceroy could be selected.

"Our great Prince Clovis died a heroic warrior and lost his life defending us all from the evil elevens that plague this world. His death will not be in vain. On my honor, I swear that all the accursed terrorists in this country shall be eliminated so that our prince may rest peacefully." Jeremiah shouted into the microphones.

'Don't make promises you can't keep.' Lelouch thought amusingly. 'This is going to be fun.' Lelouch accidentally let his ren flare a little bit, fortunately, no one seemed to notice.

The news anchor came back to make an announcement. "We've just received word that the man suspected of murdering the prince has been captured. Former eleven and honorary Britannian Suzaku Kururugi has been arrested for the murder of third Prince Clovis la Britannia."

The screen cut to Suzaku being escorted to a holding cell by a group of officers. It looked like Suzaku was trying to explain his innocents, only for an officer to punch him in the face.

'Seems like things are progressing more quickly than I expected. Oh well, I think I can work with this anyway.' Lelouch thought.

(Military facility, interrogation room)

"Tell me Kururugi, do you recognize this blade?" Jeremiah asked, referring to the gardening sickle sitting on the table.

"I've never once seen that tool before." Suzaku confirmed.

"We have confirmed that this is the blade that was used to slice the prince's head in half. We found you fingerprints all over it." Jeremiah roared.

"You're making a mistake!" Suzaku tried, only to get knocked to the floor.

"If you come clean right here and now, you will be tried as an honorary Britannian rather than the eleven scum you are." Jeremiah shouted.

"I have done nothing wrong." Suzaku stated stubbornly.

"Get this criminal out of my sight." Jeremiah demanded quietly.

The soldiers complied with their leaders order.

(The next day, Ashford academy)

The entirety of the Ashford student body had been assembled to listen to a speech about the greatness of the deceased prince. How he fought for truth and justice and will never be forgotten. The standard monologue for a dead royal.

After the seemingly endless lies about Clovis had finally come to an end, Lelouch could actually hear himself think, again.

'The purebloods believe that only full blooded Britannians should be aloud to be a part of the military. If Suzaku, the son of Japan's last prime minister is found guilty of murdering Clovis, then they have a perfect excuse to get rid of the honorary Britannian system.' Lelouch thought.

"Hey, Lelouch!" Rivalz called as he walked over. "Since classes are cancelled for the day, how about some matches. I know quite a few former opponents who would be willing to bet top dollar in a rematch."

"Oh no you don't. You are not going gambling, again." Shirley scolded.

"You're right!" Lelouch answered.

"Huh?" Shirley asked.

"No gambling today." Lelouch confirmed.

"Ah, good, you finally came to your senses." Shirley happily stated.

"Today is the day I intend to get a date with Kallen." Lelouch clarified.

Hearing that caused Shirley to go into a depression state. She just stood there as Lelouch walked away.

It was possible she was just going to stand there depressed for hours to come.

"Uh, Shirley? Are you okay?" Rivalz asked.

Shirley just stood there, wishing to die.

(Later that day (1600 hours to be precise), Kozuki hideout)

Outside the hideout of the Kozuki resistance, Lelouch and Kallen were about to walk inside so Lelouch could meet the other members.

"You're sure that all of them will be here?" Lelouch asked.

"That's what I told them, just as you requested. But it's possible that some may choose not to come." Kallen answered.

"That's fine. I would probably only need three or four, you included, to help my plans come to fruition." Lelouch explained.

Lelouch turned his head to see Hisoka across the street, leaning against a half destroyed building.

The prince and the hunter clown nodded at each other.

Lelouch proceeded to enter the rundown hideout while Hisoka disappeared from sight.

After entering the building, Lelouch came face to face with a small number of resistance fighters; each of them wearing a red headband.

"Which one of you is Kaname Ohgi? The leader that Kallen told me about." Lelouch asked.

"That would be me." Ohgi answered with much less confidence than intended.

"It's a pleasure, I'm Lelouch." Lelouch introduced.

"Alright Lelouch, tell me, why did you help us in the Shinjuku battle? And don't say you were just trying to clear a path for your own escape, that's an obvious lie." Ohgi questioned.

"I did so because the innocent Japanese people were being wrongly harmed. The members of your little group have already condemned yourselves to live as criminals voluntarily, but the military decided to bring bystanders into the line of fire, so I helped them." Lelouch explained.

The members of the resistance were very surprised to hear such words come from the mouth of a Britannian.

"Now it's my turn to ask you something. What do you see when you look at the Britannian city?" Lelouch asked.

"What do we see? We see a city of monsters who stole our land and built on our sacrifice." Ohgi answered.

"And when you look at the ghetto?" Lelouch asked.

"The ruined remains of a once great land that Britannia sucked dry." Ohgi replied.

"Good answers!" Lelouch stated. "You're right to go against Britannia, but your methods are a bit flawed. Britannia won't fall to terrorism."

"Fall?" Ohgi asked, thinking of the fall of the empire as nothing but a fools dream.

"Terrorism is and always will be little more than the equivalent of a mosquito bite." Lelouch voiced.

"What? Are you calling us bugs you Britannian bastard?" Tamaki yelled threateningly.

"Not at all, I'm saying that terrorism is analogous to a mosquito bite. Extremely annoying at first, easily treatable, and you forget about it after a day or two." Lelouch explained.

"At least we're trying to fight. Don't think you can get cocky just because you have weird powers." Tamaki shouted.

"Does this one even have an inside voice?" Lelouch asked Kallen.

"That is his inside voice." Kallen responded.

"What a shame. Anyway, as for why I don't use my powers to fight against the empire more often, the reason is simple. I have limits. All I had done in Shinjuku left me really exhausted. I was just lucky the government was trying to keep the incident under wraps, so they couldn't call for backup. I wasn't at full strength at the time, but even if I was, I would have been at a major disadvantage if they had called in reinforcements." Lelouch explained. "I certainly wouldn't be able to go against the fire power of the entire empire."

"Wait, hold on, you weren't at full strength in Shinjuku?" Nagata asked.

"No! The strength of my abilities comes from my willpower. I was wearing my school uniform at the time. When I wear clothing that I perceive as 'my style', it betters my mental state and strengthens my abilities." Lelouch explained. "What happened in Shinjuku was only about seventy percent of what I can do at any given time."

"So, what you're saying is that you can't beat Britannia?" Ohgi asked.

"I could if I had a large military force of my own backing me up. Recruitment won't be an issue; once people see what I'm capable of in battle, they'll gladly join my side. It's like that bedtime story, where the two children happily trust the wicked witch who gives them candy." Lelouch bragged. "But before that, the first step is to acquire a small group of close allies to be my top commanders."

Everyone's eyes widened with realization.

"So my next question is… Will you help me?" Lelouch asked.

(Jeremiah's office)

"The execution of the broadcast went perfectly Diethard. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were expecting Prince Clovis to meet his untimely end." Jeremiah accused.

"It's actually very common for important figures to have their memorials prepared in advance." Diethard corrected.

"I see, and am I one of such important people by any chance?" Jeremiah questioned.

"Your recent takeover has moved you up the list." Diethard confirmed.

"I wasn't important enough until now, is that it?" Jeremiah questioned. "Be that as it may. I have a request regarding the transfer of Kururugi to his court martial.

"The way will be lined with patriotic Britannians." Diethard confirmed, already knowing what Jeremiah was going to ask.

"This is a very delicate operation Diethard. If even one thing goes wrong, the royal family will have my head. If that happens, intend to make sure I don't go alone." Jeremiah warned.

(Japan liberation force headquarters)

People were shouting left and right, arguing over whether or not they should try to save Suzaku Kururugi.

"The bastard became an honorary Britannian."

"Obviously, he was just following his plan to eliminate the Prince."

"It would be suicide to try and help him."

"He's the son of our last prime minister, Genbu."

"That traitor gave up our land to those accursed Britannians."

"What say you, Tohdoh the miracle worker?" Asked Kusakabe.

"We do nothing. If we attempt to save him, then we are fools." Tohdoh answered.

(Britannian prison cell)

Suzaku was sitting in his cell, bored out of his mind. Suzaku wasn't expecting any visitors, so it came as a shock when he looked up and saw someone standing outside his cell.

"It's you!" Suzaku stated, recognizing the pink flame style hair, unique fashion sense, and pale skin.

"Hey, thought I'd come pay you a friendly visit. Although, it seems like I might have come at a bad time." Hisoka joked.

"Aright, enough games. Who are you? What are you doing here?" Suzaku questioned.

"Don't think you can make demands of me. You saw what Lelouch can do and I could beat him in under three seconds." Hisoka warned.

Suzaku's eyes widened hearing the clown man's claim of being that powerful.

'Actually, that's based on my abilities being more suited to one on one combat while Lelouch developed his abilities with the Britannian military weaponry in mind. But this one doesn't need to know that.' Hisoka thought.

"I'm Lelouch's teacher you see. To answer your question, my name is Hisoka." Hisoka introduced.

"So why are you here?" Suzaku questioned.

"Lelouch told me what an idiot you are, so I thought I'd tell you what's going on, since you probably haven't figured it out already." Hisoka answered.

"Excuse me?" Suzaku asked angrily.

"They know you didn't kill the prince. They, the purebloods, who believe that only full-blooded Britannians should be allowed to serve in the military, just want to use you, an honorary Britannian, who is also the son of Japan's last prime minister, as a scapegoat so that they will have an excuse that allows them to abolish the honorary Britannian system altogether." Hisoka explained.

"They wouldn't compromise their honor or degrade the death of the Prince by stooping so low." Suzaku shouted.

"You've already seen the proof. That gardening tool they claimed to be the murder weapon which they claimed had your fingerprints on it. Didn't you find it just a bit strange that there wasn't any blood on the blade?" Hisoka asked.

"How did you…?" Suzaku started to ask but was cut off before he could finish his train of thought.

"I would advise against putting your faith in the upcoming trial. The purebloods have rigged it so you're found guilty no matter what. As we speak, they're busy paying off the judge, jury, prosecution, and the defense." Hisoka explained.

"If I'm to be executed by a corrupt system, then so be it. That's not a world I want to live in anyway. I have no regrets." Suzaku claimed steadfastly.

"The only people without regrets are newborn babies, and that's only because they haven't been around long enough to have any regrets, also they don't know what regret is." Hisoka countered. "Be that as it may, you won't die, I assure you."

"What are you saying?" Suzaku questioned.

"Why spoil the surprise?" Hisoka responded as he began walking away.

(Later that night, on the bridge)

Suzaku was being transported to his court martial, escorted by a battalion of knightmares. Leading this battalion was Jeremiah.

The route to the court had been lined with angered patriotic Britannian citizens.

The event was being broadcast over the news.

"What a circus this is, and I'm as corrupt as any of them." Diethard mused.

As the procession was crossing the bridge, Jeremiah received a report from a scout up ahead.

"Lord Jeremiah, it's him. The man from Shinjuku. The man in the black armor." Came a panicked voice from Jeremiah's radio.

Jeremiah's eyes widened hearing that the knightmare destroyer had returned.

"Stop the procession, everyone ready your weapons." Jeremiah ordered in a panic.

Everyone watching couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Why had the transport and escort stopped? Why were they preparing for combat?

A deafening silence took over the crowd as they saw a single man in black armor walking down the middle of the street toward the transport.

He stopped just a few meters short of Jeremiah's lead knightmare frame.

Suzaku's eyes widened. 'Lelouch? What are you doing here?' Suzaku wondered.

Lelouch used gyo on his throat to increase his voice volume and said "Good evening friends, one and all. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zero."

"Zero? As in nothing?" Diethard questioned.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Jeremiah shouted with obvious panic.

"Nice to see you too. Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, let's get down to business." Zero said with his gyo voice. He proceeded to conjure his Black rook in his right hand.

"Lord Jeremiah, that's…" Villueta shouted, recognizing the hammer.

"I know." Jeremiah replied. 'That hammer destroyed multiple buildings in a single hit.' Jeremiah thought, remembering what happened in Shinjuku mere days ago. 'If he were to use that hammer on the bridge…' Jeremiah thought as he imagined the bridge being destroyed and the numerous Britannian observers falling to their deaths. 'That bastard, he's taken every Britannian here hostage, and they don't even know it.

"If you want, you're welcome to try and shoot me. But then the hammer would just hit the bridge anyway." Zero threatened.

"This is fantastic, get in closer." Diethard ordered to his camera crew.

"But sir, it's too dangerous!" The camera man argued.

"Arh, amateurs!" Diethard complained as he took the camera and ran out of the news van.

"Fine Zero, what are your demands?" Jeremiah conceded.

"It's actually pretty simple, I want you to release Kururugi." Zero declared.

"I think not. He's been charged with the murder of Britannian royalty. I can't hand him over." Jeremiah shouted, immediately regretting it.

"That's where you're wrong, I know for a fact that Suzaku Kururugi is innocent. I was there when Clovis met his end. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Kururugi is not guilty." Zero announced.

"Hold on, is he saying…?" Jeremiah wondered out loud.

"That's correct. The one who murdered the third Prince Clovis la Britannia…" Zero turn towards Diethard's camera. "Was myself." Zero declared.

Everyone gasped at this new information.

'Nunnally won't let me hear the end of this anytime soon. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.' Lelouch thought.

"Don't believe me? Here, I even have possession of the murder weapon." Zero shouted as he conjured the Black queen in his left hand.

"This is all just one big performance to him." Diethard realized.

"Having said that, I trust you'll agree to release Kururugi." Lelouch said as he dismissed his Black queen. "Then again, it doesn't really matter if you agree or not. If I were to use my hammer on the bridge, I could easily save myself and Suzaku. I'm sure you've realized that already, Gottwald. As far as I'm concerned, you agreeing to my demand just saves me the extra effort. So, what do you say, Jeremiah?"

"Release the prisoner." Jeremiah ordered.

"But, lord Jeremiah." Villueta tried to argue.

"You heard me. Release the prisoner." Jeremiah shouted.

The soldier complied with their leaders orders and undid Suzaku's restraints.

Suzaku walked over to the armored figure and tried to question him. "What are you… Argh!" Before Suzaku could finish what he was saying, he was shocked by the collar around his neck.

"As I suspected, a shock collar. They weren't even going to let you defend yourself." Zero pointed out, his voice still being strengthened by gyo. "An honorary Britannian who also happens to be the son of Japan's last prime minister. If convicted, it would have been the perfect excuse to abolish the honorary Britannian system. How convenient for the purebloods, who believe that only pure blooded Britannians should be allowed to serve in the military."

"This is going to skyrocket my career." Diethard muttered.

"Let's go!" Lelouch said, his voice now back to normal.

Suzaku and Zero began walking back the way Zero came from.

"I don't think so!" Shouted one very brave/very stupid soldier who pulled out his hand gun and fired at the back of Zero's head.

Fortunately for Zero, he was smart enough to watch his back with a ten meter en and easily sensed the coming bullet. Lelouch turned toward the small projectile and conjured the Black knight to his left arm as he did so. When the bullet hit the shield, the soldier ended up with a bullet hole through his skull. He fell to the ground immediately.

Everyone watching was stunned. How had the soldier received a bullet wound when Zero hadn't even fired. That's what everyone watching, on the news and in person, were thinking.

"What a fool! They knew they couldn't stop me with knightmare frames. Did he really think a mere bullet would work?" Zero asked, his voice once again strengthened by gyo.

Zero and Suzaku started walking away again. Zero decided to keep the Black knight around, just in case.

Once they reached the end of the bridge, Zero dismissed the Black rook and Black knight. He then grabbed Suzaku by waist and propped him on his armored shoulder.

Zero focused gyo into his legs and jumped up to and off of the side of the nearest building. He began jumping from one building to the next for a clean getaway.

Standing atop one of the bridges pillars, Hisoka stood, watching the whole thing with an amused smile.

"That's my boy!" Hisoka said to no one in particular before he began making his way after his protege.

(Old abandoned theatre in the ghetto)

"You have to admit, he's something else. He said he was gonna free Kururugi and he did. I don't care that he's Britannian, I'd be happy to follow him into battle." Ohgi declared.

"You can't be serious?" Tamaki shouted.

"We always thought that a full on war with Britannia was impossible, but with him around, we might finally get our country back." Ohgi mused.

Meanwhile, inside the main play hall, Lelouch, now without his armor, was having a conversation with Suzaku. Hisoka was listening from the far side of the room.

"Now you see what their really like, Suzaku. If you want to make a better world free of such corruption, join my fight against Britannia." Lelouch offered.

"Hold on Lelouch, I have questions. What are these weird powers? Who is this clown guy?" Suzaku shouted.

Lelouch looked to Hisoka for permission to explain his abilities.

"You can give him the abridged version, but don't explain the four exercises." Hisoka said.

"Alright then! My abilities are known as nen, the ability to weaponize your own life energy. A person is born with an affinity for one of six nen types. Enhancement, which strengthens the user's natural abilities. Transmutation, where the user changes their aura to match something else. Emission, where one uses aura outside of the body. Conjuration, that's where you materialize helpful objects out of aura. Manipulation, where one controls objects and living things. Finally, Specialization, unique abilities that don't fall into the other categories. As you can probably guess, I have the conjuration affinity, however, it is possible to use nen types not of your own affinity, for example, my frost is a form of transmutation." Lelouch explained slowly.

"And who is he?" Suzaku asked, pointing at Hisoka.

"The man who taught me nen, Hisoka. We made a deal. He teaches me nen so I can settle my grudge with Britannia, and in return, I help Hisoka take down a power nen user he has a score to settle with. His name, Chrollo Lucilfer." Lelouch explained.

"I don't dare fight him on my own again. The last time I tried, he did this to me." On the word 'this', Hisoka removed the fake face he created with Texture surprise.

Suzaku began to gag at the man's horribly scarred remains of what used to be his face.

"Please stop showing that to people. You're already off putting enough." Lelouch pleaded, not wanting to look at Hisoka's real face any longer than necessary.

"My left arm and right leg are in a similar condition to my face." Hisoka stated as he used Bungee gum to reattach his fake face. "Honestly, it's a miracle I'm alive right now. That's why I want help the next time I battle Chrollo."

"Lelouch, you can't seriously trust this guy?" Suzaku asked.

"He cured Nunnally, restored her eyes and legs." Lelouch confessed.

Suzaku's eyes widened.

"Hold on, are you saying Nunnally knows what you're doing?" Suzaku questioned.

"She does." Lelouch confirmed.

Suzaku thought for a moment and said "It doesn't matter. Terrorism will never get anyone anywhere. I believe this nation can be changed for the better, from the inside."

"First of all, no it can't. Secondly, you've already seen what I'm capable of Suzaku, and that wasn't even full strength. I'm offering you the chance to be on the same side." Lelouch offered.

"You threatened to kill hundreds of civilians Lelouch; any results gained by contemptible means are worthless." Suzaku shouted.

"Suzaku, let me explain something to you about the relationship between humanity, results, and ethics. Results are like rabbits, they're generally hard to catch and people are happy to have them. Ethics are like a hungry, venomous snake. They'll eat the rabbit, meaning you can never get it, and you yourself will probably get poisoned, as well." Lelouch explained. "It was just a scare tactic Suzaku. I'm smart enough to know how the human mind works. I saved you, and the only death was that soldier who tried to shoot me. I achieved my goal with no harm, no foul. That's all anyone can ask."

"You're insane Lelouch. I know I can make a difference without stooping to your level, and there is absolutely nothing you can say to change my mind." Suzaku shouted.

Lelouch simply smiled and said "Suzaku, would you like to learn nen?"

 **This is my impression of you from about two seconds ago. "WHAAAAAT!"**

 **So, that's the third chapter.**

 **Thank you for reading.**

 **Feel free to leave a review.**


	4. The Prince's Forthcoming

**Chapter 4: The Prince and the Jester**

 **Disclaimer: Nothing is mine**

(Lelouch and Nunnally's home)

Lelouch was walking through the front door after a long night of beginning his rebellion. All he wanted to do now was sleep. Unfortunately, his sister was probably going to chew him out for not telling her about Clovis. He was not looking forward to that.

"Hey, I'm home." Lelouch called.

"Lelouch, how dare you not tell me about Clovis. What happened to 'I'll never lie to you'?" Nunnally shouted.

"Hey, technically, I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you. Those two aren't the same thing." Lelouch defended.

"Don't you dare try to play this off Lelouch. Picking a fight with the empire is one thing. I already prepared myself for the death of my family in one way or another. If you go and kill our siblings, you could at least have the decency to tell me." Nunnally argued.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Lelouch conceded.

"I'll let it go just this once, but don't let it happen again." Nunnally said sternly. "Now, would you be so kind as to tell me about your relationship with this woman who says she knows you?" Nunnally asked, gesturing her hand toward a green haired woman sitting at the table.

Lelouch's eyes widened as he saw the should be dead woman from Shinjuku alive and in his home.

"It's you! You're the girl the empire was experimenting on. How can you still be alive? I saw you take a bullet through the skull." Lelouch questioned.

"Wait, what?" Nunnally cried.

"You refused the power I offered you. You claimed that you already had power of your own and you proved this to be true. I want you to tell me, who made a contract with you before I could? How did this person give you such powers?" The girl asked.

"That would be me." Said a new voice from the opposite side of the room.

The girl turned to see a clown with pink flame hair sitting in the open window.

"My name is Hisoka, and I taught Lelouch how to materialize weapons out of his own life energy, as well as transmute his life energy into frost." Hisoka explained.

"Hisoka, I am called C.C., and I possess the ability to give people powers of their own. Because of you, I lost the chance to form a new contract. No one has ever refused my offer before. Because you got to him first, I have lost an opportunity to make my wish come true." The now named C.C. explained.

"I heard the word 'contract'. That means you wanted something in return. Do tell, what could an immortal possibly need to make a contract to get? What is it that you cannot get for yourself, already?" Hisoka questioned.

"Personally, I'd rather not say." C.C. answered.

"That's fine!" Hisoka responded. "You said so yourself that Lelouch refused your deal, so it really doesn't matter either way."

"Now, I would like to ask you a question." C.C. requested.

"Oh?" Hisoka sounded.

"A moment ago, you said you said you granted these powers by teaching him how to make use of his own life energy. I would like you to tell me more." C.C. requested.

Hisoka thought for a moment and responded. "Very well! If you wanted to slaughter thousands, then you would have done so already, Miss immortal. You're the type who cares nothing for the mundane ways and actions of mortals, such as grudges and authority. So yes, I'll tell you more."

"Please, start from the beginning. I want to know as much as possible about a power that would make someone reject my

offer." C.C. requested

"We'll start with the concept of aura. Then the four exercises." Hisoka began.

(The next morning, outside the courthouse)

Suzaku had been acquitted from suspicion in the murder of Clovis due to 'lack of evidence' and was now making his way off.

Suzaku lifted his arm to look at the layer of life energy that now surrounded his body. Compared to an experienced nen user, the ten around Suzaku's body was obviously amateurish, but that didn't change the fact that Suzaku was now much stronger with that lousy ten alone.

'I can already feel myself getting a lot stronger. If this is just the first step of the beginner level, then it's easy to believe Lelouch could do what he did in Shinjuku.' Suzaku thought.

(Flashback, the old theater, last night)

"W-what?" Suzaku asked.

"I asked you if you would like to learn nen." Lelouch answered. "All I ask is that you join my side."

"Are you saying that it's possible for me to have those same weapons and ice powers that you have?" Suzaku asked.

"If it can be done using nen, then yes, you can learn it, however, that would be a very bad idea. The nen ability that one uses is the one they develop themselves based on their own individuality and personal experiences. If you just copy someone else, you'll never achieve your full potential. If you did try to replicate the black chess weapons or the frost, then they would be considerably weaker than Lelouch's." Hisoka explained. "Your heart just wouldn't be in it. Besides that, I don't think you're a conjurer like Lelouch."

"Not a conjurer? How can you tell?" Suzaku asked.

"Personality analysis." Hisoka answered. "It's not an exact science, but I haven't been wrong yet. Those of the conjuration affinity like Lelouch are cowardly and intelligent. Tell me, does that sound like you? I myself am a transmuter, which means I'm whimsical and prone to deceit. Lelouch's sister Nunnally is a manipulator, that makes her calm and argumentative. Enhancer types are simple and determined. Emitter types are idiotic and short tempered. Specialist types are independent and charismatic."

"All that in mind, I think it's safe to say that you probably belong to the enhancement nature." Lelouch guessed.

"Probably!" Hisoka agreed.

"Alright then! Convince me why I should join you. Tell me about enhancement nen." Suzaku requested.

"Alright, I'll give you the statistics for standard enhancer abilities. Offensive power: able to break through eight inches of solid steel in a single punch. Defensive power: able to shrug off an anti-tank bazooka with only a few burns. Speed: on par with a highly aerodynamic race car. Generally, enhancers don't use special attacks. It's not really necessary because enhancement offers the best balance of attack and defense power."

"Things are a bit more complex than that. You'll learn all about that; after you agree to join my side of course." Lelouch chimed in.

Suzaku thought for a few moments and finally said "What would I have to do?"

Lelouch smiled and said "So happy you see things my way. I'll start by explaining the four exercises, and then we can get to the baptism.

(Flashback end)

'Don't think for a moment this makes us allies Lelouch. I'll learn everything I can about nen and use what I've learned to become the knight of one.' Suzaku thought. 'For now though, it looks like I'll be playing the long game. If what they said about enhancement nen is true, then it's gonna be well worth it.'

"Clear the way, please." Suzaku heard a female voice from above.

Suzaku looked up to see a pink haired girl of about sixteen who had just jumped out of a window.

"Look out below." The girl called as she fell.

Suzaku's instincts kicked in and he caught the girl who only seemed to weigh a third of what Suzaku had expected. Suzaku had assumed it was his new aura strengthened body.

"I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't think anyone was down here." The girl apologized.

"That's alright! I certainly wasn't expecting a girl to fall out of the sky and into my arms either." Suzaku replied. "Is there any particular reason you jumped out of that window?"

"Oh, yes, these bad men are chasing me. Will you please help me?" The girl asked with a look on her face that appears as though she just had an idea.

'That look on her face, and this building is a government facility. She's lying.' Suzaku thought. "How can I refuse a damsel in distress?" Suzaku answered.

"Thank you, please, let's hurry." The girl insisted as she grabbed Suzaku's arm and started pulling him.

They had slowed down after having gone a couple of blocks.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced." Suzaku pointed out. "I'm…"

"I already know who you are." The girl interrupted. "Suzaku Kururugi, the son of the last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi. You're something of a celebrity."

Suzaku blushed a bit at the celebrity comment.

"And you are?" Suzaku asked.

"My name is… Euphie." The girl answered with a brief hesitation.

"Euphie, why did you lie to me back when we met?" Suzaku asked seriously.

"Meow, meow!" Euphie had wandered off to play with a cat.

"Aww, did the kitty get hurt." Euphie asked, noticing the cat was limping.

Euphie picked up the cat and held it out for Suzaku to see. Suzaku tried to pet the cat but was bitten on the finger.

Suzaku's ten was strengthening his body and making it more durable, however, Suzaku was still an amateur. The bite of the mere house cat did break his skin, but not enough to draw blood. The lack of bleeding didn't escape Suzaku's notice.

Suzaku had a first aid kit in his bag. The equipment for a sprained finger was the best they had for the cat's leg.

"Do you have a problem with cats?" Euphie asked.

"I like them just fine." Suzaku said, trying to pet the cat again.

The cat hissed at him.

"Unfortunately, the feeling isn't mutual." Suzaku admitted.

"I think unrequited love is the mark of a kind person." Euphie stated.

The cat ran off with his now bandaged leg.

"The kitty ran away." Euphie said sadly.

"Euphie, why did you lie when we first met?" Suzaku tried again.

"Are you asking because you're concerned about me?" Euphie asked.

"Of course!" Suzaku responded.

Suzaku and Euphie spent the rest of the day exploring the settlement.

"You know, being here is a lot like being in Britannia." Euphie noted.

"Are you from the homeland?" Suzaku asked.

"I am. I was a student up until last week." Euphie answered.

"As in a high school student?" Suzaku asked. "Couldn't you go sightseeing any time?"

"Today is the last day of my vacation. I want to see as much of area 11 as I can." Euphie responded.

"Are you enjoying the tour so far?" Suzaku asked.

"Yes, but there's one more place I'd like to go." Euphie answered.

"Your wish is my command m'lady. Where to?" Suzaku said with a bow.

"Suzaku Kururugi, take me to Shinjuku ghetto." Euphie requested, much to Suzaku's surprise.

(Ashford academy, Lelouch's bedroom)

"It appears Zero has made quite the impact. Not only is the military in an uproar, but various rebel cells, and not just the ones in this country, are becoming a lot more bold. Since your debut, seven terrorist attacks have happened in this country alone. In all of the countries under the control of the empire, the average number of rebel attacks is nine or ten. That's after only a day since Suzaku was rescued from the false trial." C.C. informed.

"What's that old saying? 'Do what you love and the money will follow'. This is quite the payoff if I do say so myself." Lelouch couldn't help but boast.

"The entire world is looking for you. Some to punish you, others to recruit you. So, is this the result you longed for, Lelouch?" C.C. asked.

"Don't make me laugh. This is nowhere near my end goal." Lelouch confirmed. "I have big plans for the world. When they unfold, it will make what's already happened seem like a whole lot of nothing."

"An end goal that makes a drastic increase of global terrorism seem like nothing at all?" C.C. questioned. "What in the world could possibly be so grand?"

"Tell me, C.C., who has best chance of ending a war?" Lelouch asked.

"The side with superior might." The immortal answered.

"I didn't ask 'who has the best chance of winning a war'. My question was 'who has the best chance of ending a war'." Lelouch clarified.

"Well now I'm not sure I even understand the question." C.C. admitted.

"The person who has the best chance of stopping a war… is the person who has total control over both sides. That's the one who can stop the fighting any time they want." Lelouch clarified.

"And just how do you plan to have control over both sides? Are you going to use manipulation aura on the emperor or something?" C.C. asked.

"Not a bad idea. I might just do that to torture him before his execution. I wouldn't mind seeing him lick a rusty old toilet clean. I would have to learn manipulation first though, or find someone else who has an affinity for manipulator nen." Lelouch mused. "To answer your question, no, I don't plan to control Britannia by manipulating him."

"Then how?" C.C. asked.

"Stay tuned and find out." Lelouch answered with a smirk.

(Shinjuku ghetto, burial site)

"People were finally starting to move back to the ghetto, too." Suzaku stated.

"It's so terrible." Euphie agreed.

"Those look like shots from hummer rounds." A new voice said from not too far away.

"I can't get a good focus." Another voice said.

Suzaku and Euphie turned to see a pair of young men wearing Ashford student uniforms. The first was pudgy, had blonde hair, and had a red bandana tied around his head. The other was skinnier and had long dark hair tied into a ponytail. The blonde was holding a camera.

"I don't think they used any of the heavy bullets." Bandana stated disappointedly.

"I told you they wouldn't have. The military won't waste the good stuff on a bunch of pathetic elevens." Ponytail Gloated.

'What scum! How dare they laugh at the suffering of others.' Suzaku thought.

"Get lost you damn Britannians." A new voice called. It was Tamaki. With him was Minami and Yoshida.

"You're not welcome here. Get lost and you might just leave with all your fingers still attached." Tamaki threatened.

"Don't you threaten us! Don't forget who's been taking care of you elevens all these years." Bandana tried to act tough.

"Don't you dare call me an eleven. I'm Japanese, you bastard!" Tamaki shouted, knocking the camera to the ground, breaking it.

"Wrong; you seem to forget who won the war." Ponytail shouted, though he was obviously scared.

"That's enough." Suzaku shouted, running over. "There's been enough conflict."

"Stay out of this." Tamaki shouted, throwing a punch. Suzaku dodged the blow, but his sunglasses got knocked off, fully revealing his face.

Tamaki's eyes widened with recognition. "You! I recognize you. You're Suzaku Kururugi."

"The guy who killed Prince Clovis?" Bandana asked.

"No, that was Zero." Ponytail corrected.

"So you've come to the aid of your Britannian masters you damn lapdog." Tamaki accused.

Tamaki threw another punch at Suzaku. Suzaku however, easily countered and flipped the man with anger problems over his shoulder.

"Please, I've been trained in military combat. I don't want to fight my own people." Suzaku pleaded.

"Like hell, we're your people. You became an honorary Britannian. You're nothing but a traitor, the lowest of scum!" Tamaki shouted as he got up.

"No, you're wrong…" Suzaku tried but was interrupted.

"I am not wrong. I bet your father didn't commit suicide to avoid being a prisoner of war. He did it because he was ashamed to have scum like you as a son!" Tamaki screamed, red in the face.

Suzaku could only stare wide eyed, mouth agape, his heart on the verge of exploding.

"Well, that was pretty harsh, and believe me, I know harsh." Said a new voice.

Everyone turned to see a man wearing a purple kimono. He had wispy facial hair, a katana sword at his hip, and his dark hair was tied into an upward ponytail.

"Hey, my name is Nobunaga. I'm looking for someone. Maybe you've seen him. Pale skin, yellow eyes, pink fire-like hair. Over all, he looks like a creepy clown. Answers to the name, Hisoka. Have you seen anyone like that?" Nobunaga asked.

Suzaku's eyes widened. 'This man… He has a shroud of aura around him. He's a nen user.'

'It can't be a coincidence.' Tamaki thought. 'He's definitely talking about that creepy guy who was with Zero.'

"Not counting the two in school uniforms, all of your eyes widened. I assume that means you know something." Nobunaga pointed out.

'Damn, he noticed that. Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Nen users have lots of aura in their eyes. Of course he noticed a small detail like that. He probably already noticed the aura around my body, and he can probably tell that I'm an amateur. This isn't good at all.' Suzaku thought.

"That's enough. Don't make accusations of people. It's very rude." Euphie cried as she walked over.

"Well now, this is a surprise! It's not often I'm in such high class company. It's a pleasure to meet you, Euphemia li Britannia, third Princess of the Britannian royal family." Nobunaga said with a kind smile.

Everyone's eyes widened, especially Euphemia's.

"How… How did you recognize me? I haven't made my public debut yet." Euphemia questioned.

"I do my homework." Nobunaga answered. "Okay, actually, I know a guy who does his homework." The swordsman confessed.

"Anyway, you don't need to worry about me. I honestly couldn't care less about race or politics or whatever else the Britannians and Japanese are fighting about. I just want to find Hisoka and kill him. I lost four of my friends because of him. Kortopi, Shalnark, Pakunoda, and Uvogin. I intend to avenge their deaths. Nobunaga monologued.

The swordsman turned back to the crowd and said "Now I'll ask you again, where is Hisoka? I know you've seen him."

"That's pointless, bonehead." Said a pink haired woman who was walking over, she had a pincushion around her wrist, black gloves, and purple leg warmers.

"You trying to start a fight with me, Machi?" Nobunaga screamed.

"You know Hisoka is smarter than that. Even if they had seen him, he wouldn't be in that same place anymore, and he wouldn't leave a trail. If we want to find him, we have to find him ourselves." Machi scolded, ignoring his outburst.

"Fine! I was only giving it try. It might have panned out." Nobunaga groaned.

"Before we go however, I have a strong aversion to people who are dishonorable enough to laugh at other people's corpses." Nobunaga said pulling out his katana.

He charged at the two students and sliced their heads off. Their bodies fell to the ground with a pair of thumps.

Euphemia screamed.

"Since when do you have a problem with making fun of the dead? We all do it all the time." Machi questioned.

"It's different if you yourself are the killer. You've earned the right to gloat after a battle well fought." Nobunaga answered.

"How can you people say such things?" Suzaku questioned, his hair shrouding his eyes. "How can you just talk about death and murder as easily as talking about the weather?"

"We don't have time for the full explanation, but the summary is that we know a special technique called nen. Comparing a nen user to a regular person is about the same as comparing a regular person to an insect. Nen users like us are just that strong. Committing murder just isn't a big deal for us." Nobunaga explained.

Suzaku's eyes widened in realization. He already underwent the baptism. He was becoming a nen user. Did that mean he would develop the same disregard for life.

"Nen is a technique, right?" Suzaku asked, his eyes beginning to tear up. "That would mean there was a time before you were nen users, right?"

"Yeah, so?" Machi answered.

"Did you care about life back before you had nen?" Suzaku asked, completely crying now.

"You're worried you'll end up like us, since you're a nen user, as well. We can see the layer of aura around your body. The shroud is unrefined; you're obviously new to nen. You couldn't have had it for more than a few days." Machi stated.

"To answer your question, no, we never cared about life, even before we had nen." Machi finished.

Suzaku sighed in relief.

"Our disregard for life comes from being raised in Meteor city." Machi clarified.

"Where? I've never even heard of that place." Tamaki questioned.

"Most people haven't. It's a gigantic, city-like junkyard. Officially, it doesn't exist, and the same goes for the eight million people who live there." Nobunaga explained.

"Eight million people? Living in a junkyard?" Euphemia gasped.

"Anything that doesn't fit into the upper class people's idea of an ideal society will eventually end up in Meteor city. People even throw away bastard children they don't want. It's so bad, it makes this war torn ghetto look like a paradise." Nobunaga continued.

"But, a few years back, things started to change for the better in Meteor city. All thanks to a man called Chrollo Lucilfer." Nobunaga finished.

"Chrollo Lucilfer?" Euphemia repeated.

"He founded a group called the Phantom troupe, they are known as the spiders because each member has numbered tattoo of a twelve legged spider. No more and no less than thirteen members, including Chrollo. They are a group of thieves and killers. Whatever profit they make is used for philanthropy, to better Meteor city." Machi explained.

"It's truly noble to help better his home, but is theft and murder really necessary?" Euphemia asked.

"With that method of thinking, you're gonna die very early in your life." Nobunaga stated bluntly.

An explosion was heard from halfway across the ghetto.

"What was that?" Suzaku asked.

"Oh, I think the purebloods set up a trap to off their leader, Jerry Gott-something. They wanted to erase their disgrace before the new viceroy arrives or something. I don't know!" Nobunaga halfheartedly explained.

"You wanna go watch?" Machi asked.

"Eh, sure! We're not having much luck finding Hisoka anyway." Nobunaga decided.

The two of them took off with inhuman speed, leaving only a powerful gust of wind in their wake.

The blast of air was enough to knock the three rebels unconscious. Euphemia remained standing because Suzaku had shielded her with his aura strengthened body. Suzaku himself was awake, but didn't have the strength to lift himself from his knees.

"Suzaku, are you alright?" Euphemia questioned.

"I should be the one asking you that, your Highness." Suzaku said weakly. "I apologize for my casual treatment toward you. Had I known who you are, I would have…"

Euphemia raised a hand to silence him. "If I wanted you to know my status, I would have told you in the beginning. You have nothing to apologize for."

"Thank you!" Suzaku exclaimed with a smile.

"Suzaku, what did they mean? They said you were like them. A… nen user?" Euphemia asked.

Suzaku thought a moment and finally said "Does the name 'Lelouch' sound familiar?"

Euphemia's eyes widened.

(Old abandoned sports arena in Shinjuku)

"Is this how low you're willing to stoop, Kewell?" Jeremiah demanded from inside his knightmare.

"After your disgraceful act of giving in to a terrorist, we have no choice." Kewell responded from his own knightmare. "If it makes you feel better, we can say you were killed by terrorists. Your family name will get off scot free, at least."

Kewell and the other three knightmare pilots backing him up were all in prime position to attack.

Kewell fired his slash harken at Jeremiah, only for the projectile to be intercepted by a new knightmare joining the fray.

"Isn't this an old favorite? Superior numbers vs superior fighters!" The pilot of the new knightmare exclaimed.

"Villueta?" Jeremiah realized, recognizing the voice.

"Do you really wish to fight both of us Kewell?" Villueta asked.

From up in the stands behind Jeremiah and Villueta, Machi and Nobunaga were watching the fight with interest.

"Everyone, get back. I'm gonna use the chaos mine." Kewell ordered.

Jeremiah and Villuetas eyes widened as Kewells subordinates backed away.

Kewell took a grenade like cylinder from the hip of knightmare frame and tossed it into the air.

The instant the shrapnel started spraying out of the cylinder, Machi seeing the coming danger sprang into action.

She leaped out of the stands and past the two knightmares. She transmuted her aura from her fingertips into her nen threads. Machi swung her arms around in all directions; a total blur to the naked (non nen infused) eye.

As Machi was swinging her arms around, each and every shrapnel was sliced in half by the aura strings. Each shot losing its momentum once it was sliced.

When the gatling was completed, Machi dismissed her hatsu and dropped to the floor, followed by all of the broken shrapnel.

"W-what the hell? Did that woman just stop the mine? What did she even do?" Kewell cried in disbelief.

"Piece of advice; when you're putting on a show, it's generally a bad idea to attempt harm on the audience." Machi called.

Nobunaga jumped down to join her. "The audience is bound to retaliate, usually with bad reviews." The swordsman stated. "Other times…"

Nobunaga drew his sword and seemed to disappear for half a second.

When Nobunaga reappeared, all six knightmare frames vertically split in half. A nice clean cut from top to bottom, with the pilots completely unharmed, save for dropping to the ground after their knightmare's split beneath them.

Suzaku and Euphemia, who arrived right before Machi jumped to intercept the mine, were awestruck. Euphemia requested that they come to stop the purebloods from fighting.

Suzaku had piggybacked Euphemia there, knowing it would be faster, and it was. Even carrying someone on his back, Suzaku was a good four times faster than he was before.

"Did I see that correctly? What did I even see?" Euphemia asked fearfully.

"I didn't get a good look, but I think I saw some of it." Suzaku answered. "The woman extended strings from her fingertips and started swinging her arms around. That's how she stopped the gatling. It's more than that, though! I don't think she was swinging her arms randomly. If I'm right, she accurately predicted the trajectory of each projectile in half an instant while dealing with already fired shots. Not a single movement wasted."

"Is that really possible?" The Princess asked. "Then what about the knightmares? What kind of trick was that!"

"That was no trick! The man just cut each of them with his sword. Each in only one slash if I'm not mistaken." Suzaku answered. "He destroyed six knightmares in half a moment without even scratching the pilots."

"How are such things even possible? It's like something out of a movie!" Euphemia exclaimed.

Suzaku collapsed to his knees and said "This… This is the true power of a master nen user."

Suzaku looked at the aura around his hands and thought 'Does this mean I can achieve that same level of power.'

"Suzaku?" Euphemia asked with concern.

"They were right. Comparing a nen user to a regular person really is like comparing a regular person to a bug." Suzaku stated.

Back on the field, Kewell returned to his senses and pulled out his pistol and started firing at the two strangers. His three subordinates followed suit.

Machi easily dodged all the bullets, while Nobunaga just let the bullets hit him, knowing they wouldn't work on his enhancement type body.

"Are you finished?" Nobunaga asked halfheartedly after the soldiers had ran out of bullets.

"Quick warning; the third Princess Euphemia li Britannia is nearby and she's not happy that you guys were trying to kill off one of your own. At the very least, we can get some after dinner entertainment." Machi lamented.

"Euphemia will probably let you off with a stern talking to, but her older sister Cornelia, if she finds out about this, that's when the show really gets fun." Nobunaga chuckled.

"Who… Who are you people?" Kewell shouted.

"Oh, I'm Nobunaga, and this is Machi." The sword user stated.

"Come on, let's go! I'm already bored." Machi groaned.

"Yeah yeah, whatever!" Nobunaga shrugged.

The two started walking away, not realizing that someone was watching from the shadows on the other side of the stadium.

"So, the troupe finally closed in on my general area. Looks like things are about to get very fun." Said Hisoka.

(Ashford, Lelouch's Bed room)

"Tell me something C.C., what is your opinion on survival of the fittest?" Lelouch questioned.

"Why do you want to know that?" The immortal girl asked back.

"Is it good to be strong?" Lelouch asked.

"Is it bad to be weak?" Suzaku asked Euphemia back in the ghetto.

"When I was a child…" Lelouch started.

"... The world was a terrible place…" Suzaku continued.

"... Starvation…"

"... Terrorism…"

"... War… "

"...Racism…"

"... I've been given a chance to change things…" Lelouch stated.

"... And to make the world a better place…" Suzaku continued.

"... Using this power of mine…" Lelouch vowed.

"... I won't fail." Suzaku finished.

"So I'll ask again C.C. what do you think of the current order? I only ask because I hope you aren't too attached. Things are going to change in big ways very soon." Lelouch smiled.

(Back at the arena in Shinjuku)

"You have such admirable goals. I may not have nen, but perhaps I can be of assistance." Euphemia offered. "Will you allow me to help you?"

"Thank you!" Suzaku exclaimed happily as he started tearing up.

(Later that night, at the Viceroy's palace)

"I heard about your sightseeing trip. That's probably the worst thing you could have done." Said Euphemia's older sister, the second Princess Cornelia li Britannia, the new Viceroy of area eleven.

"I just wanted to see more of the city, sister." Euphemia argued.

"Call me Viceroy, Sub Viceroy Euphemia. Because we're sisters, we have to follow a more strict protocol." Cornelia instructed.

Cornelia turned to a nearby attendant and asked "What's on the schedule?"

"First we have your welcome party, followed by…" The attendant started, but was stopped when Cornelia pulled a gun on him.

"A welcome party? A WELCOME PARTY?" Cornelia shouted angrily. "Are you telling me you haven't been looking for Zero? Sloppy, pathetic, corrupt!"

"Don't lose your temper, young lady. The spoils go to the one who remains calm." Said a new voice.

The voice had come from a short old man with a Fu Manchu mustache and flame style hair.

"Alright old man, who are you, and how did you get past the guards?" Cornelia demanded, now pointing her gun at the elder.

"No need to be hostile. My card." The old man responded, tossing his business card to the Princess.

Cornelia caught the card and looked it over.

"I don't recognize these characters. What language is this?" Cornelia asked.

"My apology! My name is Zeno Zoldyck. I'm a professional assassin." The old man introduced.

This caused all the guards present to brandish their weapons.

"Oh, don't waste your effort. No one hired me to kill any of you. You know this is true because you're all still alive. I'm an assassin, I'm not going to work if I'm not getting paid." Zeno explained.

"If you're not here to kill, then why are you here, Mr. Assassin?" Cornelia asked.

"I had heard that the second Princess Cornelia was unparalleled in beauty and bust. Need I say more?" Zeno explained.

Cornelia blushed and shouted "You risked imprisonment and even execution just so you could be a pervert?"

Zeno disappeared from his spot and reappeared behind the attendant Cornelia had threatened.

"What happened? Why am I so cold?" The attendant said.

"I assure you. I didn't risk anything by coming here." Zeno said as he lifted up something chunky and red.

The attendant collapsed to his knees as everyone took notice of the hole in the center of his chest.

"As I said, I'm a first class murderer." Zeno stated as the attendant fell to the ground, blood gushing out of him.

Euphemia started shrieking.

 **That seems like a good stopping point.**

 **Okay, Suzaku's nen! I already know what it's going to be. The decision is final. I'm not taking requests, but you are free to guess. Who knows, I might just use your guess as someone else's hatsu.**

 **Why were Nobunaga and Machi so free with information? Because it didn't really matter to them one way or another.**

 **Okay, you know where to write them reviews.**


	5. The Prince's Careful Planning

**Chapter 5: The Prince and the Jester**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zilch**

(Ashford academy, homeroom class)

Ashford had just gotten a new student. One whom Lelouch wouldn't have expected.

"Hello, my name is Suzaku Kururugi. It's a pleasure to meet you all and I look forward to being a part of the Ashford student body." Suzaku introduced from the front of the classroom.

'Twist!' Lelouch thought. 'Unexpected, but not unwelcome. Suzaku being an Ashford student actually saves me some trouble.'

Later, after class was done, people began to talk amongst themselves about the new guy.

"He was a suspect in the murder of Prince Clovis."

"Do you think he might be a terrorist?"

"Naw, the school board would have noticed if he was."

"He shouldn't be here, he's an eleven."

"He is an honorary Britannian, though."

Lelouch stood up from his seat and began walking out of class. As he passed Suzaku, he let his ren flare a bit. Nowhere near enough for an ordinary person to notice, but quite recognizable for someone with awakened aura nodes, like Suzaku.

The ren flare got Suzaku to look up and notice that Lelouch tugged at his collar as he was walking out.

"Suzaku recognized this as a signal the two came up with seven years ago, and he remembered well what it meant.

(Ashford rooftop balcony)

Suzaku stepped out from the stairs to see Lelouch already there waiting for him.

"Seven years since we used that signal." Suzaku stated.

"I was a little worried you had forgotten it after all this time. Though, it may have been the baptism that jogged your memory." Lelouch mused.

"How does unlocking my aura help me to remember something?" Suzaku asked.

"Nen users like us have a strong aura flow going to our brains. It makes our cognitive functions much stronger." Lelouch answered.

"Now that you mention it, I think I have felt a little more aware lately." Suzaku noted.

"Having said that, I would like to know, how did you end up as a student in Ashford? Not that I'm complaining, of course. This actually makes things easier." Lelouch questioned.

"Yes, I'm so happy that my being here makes it easier for you to stomp on my core beliefs and make me betray the vow of loyalty I took when I became an honorary Britannian." Suzaku stated sarcastically.

"Hey, I gave you a choice and you accepted on your own." Lelouch countered.

"Anyway, to answer your question, someone high up decided to look into my case, and at some point, she decided that a seventeen year old belongs in school." Suzaku answered.

"The fact that it's the same school I go to is a coincidence? Is that right?" Lelouch asked.

"Some coincidence!" Suzaku exclaimed. "Do you think some god up there is trying to tell us something?"

"Who can say?" Lelouch questioned. "How you ended up here doesn't really matter. The fact is that your here, and that will benefit your nen training."

"You have a very straightforward way of thinking, Lelouch." Suzaku stated. "Oh, that reminds me, do I still call you Lelouch?"

"I go by Lelouch Lamperouge now." Lelouch answered.

(Several miles away from Ashford, Blood of the Samurai base)

Cornelia was leading the assault against the Japanese rebel group known as the Blood of the samurai.

"Your Highness, shall I send a battalion to accompany you?" Asked Cornelia's personal military adviser, Andreas Darlton.

"There's no need. Zero obviously isn't here." Cornelia responded from inside her personal knightmare frame.

Cornelia charged into the hollowed out mountain that the terrorists were using for a base. She soon came to an open area inside the mountain.

The open area was filled with crates and loose supplies. It was obviously the command center for the rebel group.

Upon seeing Cornelia's knightmare, the rebel soldiers started shooting as many bullets as they could at the enemy mech while shouting "Down with Britannia! Long live Japan!"

"This is really the best they can do, isn't it? Clovis was an idiot, but even he could have dealt with these fools." Cornelia complained.

That's when Cornelia caused something red to spill across the ground, and it wasn't paint.

(Ashford, Lelouch and Nunnally's home)

"Lelouch, I'm back!" Nunnally called as she walked in with Sayoko following close behind.

"Oh, finally, I've been waiting!" Lelouch exclaimed. "I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise, really?" Nunnally asked.

"You can come out now." Lelouch called to someone in the other room.

Suzaku stepped to where Nunnally could see him.

Nunnally put her hands to her mouth in shock and then ran over to give her old friend a hug.

"Suzaku, it's really you! I thought I'd never see you again!" Nunnally cried.

"Hey, how'd you know who I am? We didn't meet until after you were blinded." Suzaku questioned jokingly.

"Don't forget, you were on the news after you got arrested." Lelouch reminded.

"Right!" Suzaku exclaimed with a little embarrassment.

"As an extra surprise, Suzaku is a student at Ashford now, so you can see him any time you want." Lelouch stated as Nunnally took notice of Suzaku's school uniform.

The three old friends sat down at the dining table to catch up as Sayoko started preparing dinner.

"Suzaku, you're learning nen too?" Nunnally asked.

"Yeah! I can already feel myself becoming… becoming… I don't know how to describe it. I guess the most appropriate word would be 'better'." Suzaku answered.

"Don't get carried away." Lelouch warned. "Even at my current level, I wouldn't risk a fight with the Knights of the round, at least not all of them."

"Speaking of which, what's Nunnally's ability? I notice the shroud of ten around her, so I assume. She has manipulation aura, right?" Suzaku questioned.

"Nunnally uses her manipulator power to control her legs. She's still crippled, but nen allows her to move them. Other than that, Nunnally doesn't have a combat power." Lelouch explained.

"I just don't want to hurt people!" Nunnally explained.

"That is so like you." Suzaku stated. "I'll be honest, at first I thought nen was some kind of black magic, not to be trusted. But I guess it isn't really that terrible if it can do you some good."

"Nen is a reflection of the users own personality. If you don't like hurting people, then you can just develop a power that doesn't hurt people." Lelouch explained. "Take my scythe, the Black queen, it can pass through any solid matter, the exception being flesh. I made it that way because I don't want anything to stand in the way of my goals."

"That's pretty fierce Lelouch, but I guess I shouldn't expect any less from you." Suzaku admitted.

"There is something I feel I must confess, though. Nen can only be so powerful, but you can make it stronger but putting conditions on the ability. By making a vow that limits the amount you can use the ability, like 'I will only use this power at night', then the ability becomes stronger. You can take things a step further by setting a punishment for yourself if you break your condition. The default punishment is that you lose the ability you put the limitation on. That might sound bad, but it's actually not much of a punishment, since you don't get any weaker than you were before. The more severe the punishment you set for yourself, the more powerful the ability becomes.

"What are you getting at?" Suzaku questioned.

"My black chess weapons, I put a condition on them. I first have to conjure my armor, the Black king, before using the other five weapons. If I use the scythe, hammer, chain, shield, or pistol without first materializing my armor, then the punishment will kick in." Lelouch explained.

"What's that?" Suzaku asked getting a little weirded out.

"If I break the condition, I will die." Lelouch stated soberly.

Suzaku's eyes widened.

"Normally, death is the most severe punishment you can set for yourself to strengthen your nen, but I found a way to take it a step further." Lelouch continued"

"What could possibly be further than death?" Suzaku asked.

"Before I answer that, keep in mind that the strength of nen is the same as the strength of your resolve." Lelouch stated.

"What are you talking about?" Suzaku questioned.

"If I break my vow, I'll have 24 hours until my death. If during that time, I kill someone I consider precious to me, then breaking the contract will be forgiven. The punishment is that I'm forced to choose between myself and my loved ones. A fate far worse than death, at least in my opinion." Lelouch finishes.

Suzaku could only stare, mouth agape.

After about five seconds, he finally spoke.

"Lelouch, why, why would you create an ability like that?" Suzaku asked.

"You know very well how powerful my enemies are. I needed my nen to be as strong as possible." Lelouch explained. "I'm not proud of it, but it's my resolve to win."

"So desperate for victory that you would off your loved ones?" Suzaku asked accusingly.

"I prefer to think of it as incentive to not break my vow." Lelouch clarified.

"Is that what helps you sleep at night?" Suzaku questioned.

"As I already mentioned, nen is a reflection of oneself. All that matters is that you develop an ability that fits you just right, no matter how complex or unethical. That is the true nature of our own life energy." Lelouch explained without even a hint of doubt.

"So what you're saying is that nen isn't the problem, it's the nen user who gives shape to their own evil." Suzaku summarized.

"That's basically it." Lelouch stated.

"I can't believe you're on board with this Nunnally." Suzaku stated. "How can you approve of this?"

"Honestly, I don't!" Nunnally clarified.

"You said she approved of your actions?" Suzaku questioned Lelouch.

"I said she was aware of my actions." Lelouch answered.

"You're scum, you know that?" Suzaku accused.

"Didn't hurt when Guinevere said it." Lelouch countered.

"You know, I could turn you over to the military at any time." Suzaku threatened.

"But you won't, because then, you would lose your chance at becoming a nen master." Lelouch countered. "Besides, even if you did turn me in, the zero costume is nen, which I can make it appear and disappear as I wish; no physical evidence. The military may find the thought dead vi Britannia siblings, but that's hardly an outcome I'm unprepared for."

Lelouch put his hand to the table centerpiece and activated Cold shoulder. The centerpiece froze over in under a second.

"One day Lelouch, one day." Suzaku promised.

"When you have fully mastered nen, we can settle things on the battlefield." Lelouch offered.

"I look forward to it!" Suzaku accepted.

"Hold that thought, I have to check something real quick." Lelouch said after sensing something out of place.

Lelouch walked out of the dining room to find C.C. lingering about.

"What did I tell you about staying hidden? I told you that you can stay, if you keep yourself away from the chance of being discovered." Lelouch scolded in a whisper.

"I really needed to stretch my legs." C.C. answered. "Besides, isn't your guest a trusted old friend?"

"He saw you die in Shinjuku, or would you like to be the one who explains how you can still be alive." Lelouch countered.

"I guess that would be pretty annoying." C.C. conceded.

"Then we're on the same page. Now get back to my room." Lelouch ordered.

"Fine, but before I go, there's a question I would like to ask you." C.C. requested.

"I'm listening." Lelouch stated.

"Do you think it's possible that nen could kill an immortal?" C.C. asked.

Lelouch thought for moment and answered "I suppose it could be possible. Nen abilities can be strengthened by limitation conditions. The strongest abilities would have four to six limitations. To kill an immortal though, that would probably require as many as twenty conditions, all of which would result in the death penalty if broken."

"I see!" C.C. responded plainly.

"It seems immortality hasn't dulled your sense of caution. I approve." Lelouch stated as he walked back out to the dining room.

"It's not really caution, so much as a wish." C.C. whispered to herself in a disappointed tone as she began walking back to Lelouch's room.

(Viceroy's palace, Cornelia's office)

"An entire city made from a garbage dump, and it has a population in the millions?" Cornelia asked.

Euphemia, who just finished relaying what she had learned about Meteor city to her sister, nodded.

"I really want to help those people, big sister. It could be a chance to change a symbol of misery and hopelessness to one of renewal and a brighter tomorrow." Euphemia explained.

"Call me Viceroy, and I assure you, this 'Meteor city' doesn't exist." Cornelia countered.

"Oh, I assure you, that Meteor city is very real." Zeno announced, revealing his previously unknown presence.

"You again?" Cornelia shouted. "How do you keep getting in here?"

"I am a professional assassin. Getting past guards, locks, and alarms without being detected is part of the job. At my age, you've got years of practice on your side." Zeno answered.

Cornelia's eyes narrowed, a single eyebrow raised. "I get the feeling you don't understand that you're not welcome here."

"I should introduce you to my grandson, Illumi. He's also terrible at being a people's person." Zeno joked.

"I should run you through right now." Cornelia threatened, reaching for the sword at her hip.

"But you won't, because you know you can't." Zeno countered.

Cornelia, humble enough to accept that the old man was right, let go of the hilt of her blade.

"Mr. Zeno, you said you could confirm the existence of Meteor city?" Euphemia asked.

"Yes, my daughter-in-law, Kikyo; she is from Meteor city." Zeno explained.

The two royal sisters eyes widened in surprise.

"It's actually quite common for terrorist groups, criminal organizations, and assassin clans to take on subordinates who are inhabitants of Meteor city." Zeno continued. "The people of Meteor city don't exist on any official record, making them untraceable by the law."

"So where exactly is this Meteor city?" Cornelia questioned.

"Oh, even if I tell, you won't find it. You could search this entire world and you still wouldn't find it." Zeno answered cryptically.

"I don't follow." Cornelia stated.

"You don't have to follow it. I think you got the message." Zeno chimed.

"You have no tact, do you?" Cornelia questioned.

"Careful young lady or you just might end up like that attendant of yours." Zeno threatened with a sinister smile.

Cornelia's eyes widened a bit, knowing full well this man could kill her in a half an instant.

"The poor soul should consider himself very lucky that I don't kill without a contract. Otherwise, I might have ripped out his heart instead of one of his lungs." Zeno continued.

"I hardly call the forcible removal of an internal organ lucky." Cornelia stated.

"He still had the other one, so it's no big deal." Zeno countered dismissively. "The human body can easily survive with just one lung, albeit no strenuous activity."

"You're completely deranged." Cornelia accused.

"Thank you!" Zeno responded.

(Britannian military prison)

Jeremiah Gottwald sat in a prison cell. Apparently, the holy Britannian empire has a zero tolerance policy against giving in to the demands of terrorists.

At that moment, someone came to pay Jeremiah a visit. Gilbert G.P. Guilford, Princess Cornelia's personal knight.

"Lord Guilford!" Jeremiah explained happily, assuming that he might have been saved.

"It seems the charges against you have been dropped, Gottwald." Guilford stated.

"Then you agree that…" Jeremiah started to ask, but was interrupted.

"The court has found you innocent. As far as I'm concerned, you should be left to rot." Guilford clarified, much to Jeremiah's horror.

"But, M'lord, you don't understand! Zero's hammer…" Jeremiah started, but was cut off again.

"I'm well aware. I read the report from Shinjuku. The hammer can apparently do damage on par with an earthquake, or something of the like." Guilford explained.

"Then you know that all the civilians on the bridge could have been…" Jeremiah was cut off by Guilford once more.

"They would have fallen to their doom. If the fall didn't kill them, the rubble from the bridge probably would have instead." Guilford summarized. "However, that outcome would have made the masked terrorist, Zero, out to be a villain, as standard. Instead, the empire received a blow to its reputation, and Zero is being seen as a god sent savior, not just in area 11, but in all of the colonies. All because you had to save the civilians, who, I'm told, you took part in arranging that they be there in the first place."

Jeremiah couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"For your regrettable actions, you've been demoted three ranks. You now have a choice to make. You can start over as a pilot, or you can go side with your new best friend, Zero. So Gottwald, what will it be?" Guilford questioned.

'What CAN I do?' Jeremiah thought with despair.

(Ashford, clubhouse front porch)

Suzaku had just finished having dinner with Lelouch and Nunnally. Suzaku was just about to head home as he was having a goodbye conversation with Lelouch.

"Are you sure you don't want me to put in a good word for you with our fellow students? I'm considered a V.I.P. among the student body. I could help you become the positive kind of popular if you just ask." Lelouch offered.

"It's fine." Suzaku confirmed. "Besides, isn't it dangerous for you to affiliate with me? Someone could find out who you are."

Lelouch smiled and said "I appreciate your concern, but it's largely unwarranted. There's not much of anything dangerous to me anymore."

"I don't doubt it, and the same will probably apply to me too pretty soon." Suzaku stated as he took a glance at the ten around his arm.

"I first started learning nen when I was fifteen. Two years later, the empire considers me a serious threat. I can't wait to see what you'll be capable of." Lelouch said as he walked back inside.

"Good evening Suzaku." Lelouch said as he closed the door.

"An ability that matches who I am, huh?" Suzaku questioned himself as he walked off. "What kind of power would that be?"

(Some abandoned hotel in one of the ghettos)

"So, did any of you have any luck finding him?" Asked a young man with pale skin, grey eyes, medium length dark hair, and a cross tattooed on his forehead.

"Me and Machi might have a lead, but it would more likely than not be a dead end." Nobunaga replied.

"Phinks and I came up empty." Feitan stated with his usual dull tone.

"Sorry boss, but me and Kalluto couldn't find him either." Franklin apologized.

"Are you serious? Five days of searching and you still don't find him?" Bonolenov questioned.

"Easy for you to say when you weren't out looking. You and Shizuku got to sit back and wait with Chrollo." Illumi pointed out.

"Well it's not like we could have gone after Hisoka. My Blinky and Bonolenovs Battle contabile would be at a disadvantage against Bungee gum, and Hisoka has likely gotten a lot stronger these past two years. He might have even come up with some new abilities." Shizuku explained.

"Go back, Nobunaga, Machi, you said you might have a lead?" Chrollo questioned.

"A group of people we questioned. When asked if they saw anyone who matched Hisokas description, their eyes widened, implying that they knew something. But, even if they did see him, he probably wouldn't stay in that same spot. So, it's probably a dead end." Machi explained.

"And we new guys were so looking forward to meeting this Hisoka person." Said a voice from the other side of the room.

Sitting in the corner were three people.

The first was a young man who looked to be about eighteen. He had blond hair combed into a side part, azure blue eyes, and tan skin. He wore a white button up dress shirt, a light blue sweater vest, and a dark blue bow tie. He had on a pair of dark blue khakis to match his bow tie and a pair of black dress shoes.

This was the new Phantom troupe member, number 6. His name; Daimaru Fujisaka.

The second was a woman of about thirty-five. She had long brown hair tied into pigtails. Around her head was a bright red bandana. She wore a soft pink two piece bikini and an untied kimono on top. The kimono was light orange and was decorated with bright red flowers. On her feet were a pair of red high heel sandals.

New Phantom troupe member, number 9. Her name; Sabrina Undergo.

The last one was a man of twenty four. He had pure white hair in the form of a medium size, bushy Mohawk. He wore a black leather vest, white leather pants and a pair of black boots. Around his neck was a spiked collar. He had matching bracelets around his wrists. His ears were pierced with simple silver earrings.

New Phantom troupe member, number 12. His name; Naota Goodman.

"From what you've told us, this Hisoka is a sadist who takes every opportunity to draw blood and cause pain. Physical pain for enjoyment, emotional pain to guarantee later enjoyment." Daimaru summarized. "That being the case, we can just cause a mass genocide and let Hisoka's bloodlust betray him."

"That would never work." Franklin argued. "Even Hisoka would go against his instincts to keep himself hidden from us. He's too smart to just give up his hiding place, unless he has some kind of plan."

"Your method of thinking is much to crude, Franklin." Sabrina countered.

"We don't commit the massacre ourselves. We just set things in motion and hide behind a rock. Once Hisoka reveals his position, we make our move. Even if it fails, we at least get a fun show out of the whole thing." Naota concluded.

"You're overthinking things! We need to keep an eye on Zero. He's obviously a nen user, and who else but Hisoka could have taught him." Phinks stated.

"That brings up the question of whether or not we should kill Zero as well." Feitan pointed out.

Chrollo stood up from where he was sitting.

"Do what you like to draw Hisoka out of hiding. Whether or not you kill Zero is up to you. The thing to remember is first come, first serve." The boss announced.

Chrollo began to walk out.

"And just where are you going?" Nobunaga questioned.

"To do something that could bring a big change in the course of this world's history." Chrollo answered as he got to the door.

(Ashford academy, the next morning)

Lelouch was currently talking to Ohgi on the phone.

" _The Blood of the Samurai was wiped out. Cornelia being here could ruin everything."_ Ohgi complained.

"You needn't worry! Cornelia being the new Viceroy actually helps to achieve one of my goals." Lelouch reassured.

" _I for one will feel much better after she's dealt with."_ Ohgi clarified.

"Don't worry, just have faith in my plans and my abilities. Centuries from now, children will be learning historical trivia about what's coming." Lelouch stated suridly. 'One way or another.'

Lelouch hung up the phone.

'How annoying? How many times must I prove myself? If they go against even a single order it could ruin everything, so for now, I'll just have to continue showing them what I'm capable of.' Lelouch thought.

Lelouch began walking towards class.

'They can't learn nen, just yet. Not until I can confirm that we're on the same page.' Lelouch thought.

(Later that day, Lelouch's home)

"Here you go, and thank you for your repeated business." The pizza delivery guy stated.

"Just give me my order and go away." C.C. stated, taking the pizza and giving the guy his pay.

'I'm glad Hisoka kept the wallets of all his victims. He certainly was generous. It was enough for me to eat pizza, three meals a day, every day, for a solid five years. He claimed what he gave me didn't even make a dent in the fortune he had amassed.' C.C. thought as she closed the door, not noticing that someone had entered the building through the closing door.

" _As long as it keeps you happy so you won't interfere in our plans."_ The immortal girl remembered Hisoka saying.

"As long as I have my Pizza, I don't care what they do. It's not like I have contracts with them." C.C. said to herself.

Meanwhile, back in Lelouch and Nunnally's apartment, Lelouch was doing his standard ten and ren training.

"Currently, I can maintain heavy aura usage for almost two hours in battle, about sixteen hours on a good day if I'm holding still. It's a good thing people find me popular. They didn't even notice me using ren in class; they just chalked it up to my natural charisma." Lelouch said to himself. "Hisoka is still far ahead. He can go fourteen hours in battle and over two days holding still."

Lelouch started performing a series of punches and kicks while his ren was still going.

"It's a good thing my aura strengthened body has less need for sleep, otherwise I never could have gotten this far so soon." Lelouch voiced through his attacks.

"Meow" Lelouch heard from the doorway.

Lelouch shut down his ren and turned to see a cat with bandages around its leg.

"Hey there, where did you come from?" Lelouch asked as he walked over to the cat.

The feline immediately took a liking to Lelouch, being that nen users have a stronger than normal connection with nature and are more likable to animals.

Lelouch picked up the cat and brought it to the dining room, where Nunnally was finishing some homework.

"Nunnally, it seems we have a house guest." Lelouch announced.

Nunnally turned her head at what she saw in Lelouch's arms.

"Ah, a kitty!" Nunnally shouted happily as she ran over to pet the kitten.

"Where did he come from?" Nunnally asked as she petted the cat.

"I don't know. I just found him wandering around the house." Lelouch answered.

"Hey, what happened to the kitties leg?" Nunnally asked, noticing the bandage around its leg.

"Who knows?" Lelouch asked. "I don't see a collar, so he probably doesn't have an owner."

"Can we keep him then?" Nunnally asked excitedly.

"I don't know!" Lelouch answered.

"Aww… Wait, I have an idea that everyone will be happy with." Nunnally proclaimed.

Nunnally proceeded to call over Lelouch's fellow student council members to tell them her idea.

Once Milly, Rivalz, and Nina all arrived, Shirley being busy with swim team practice and Kallen not caring enough, Nunnally told them her plan.

"... And so, I think this cat should be named the official pet of the Ashford academy student council." Nunnally explained.

"I'm into it!" Milly exclaimed excitedly.

"Who, wouldn't want such a cute kitty around?" Rivalz asked, ever the follower of Milly's whims.

"W-well, I suppose…" Nina stuttered.

"It's settled then. Now, what do we name him?" Milly asked.

'Nunnally wasn't kidding when she said she had an idea that 'everyone' would be happy with.' Lelouch thought.

(Later that day, Ashford Academy Auditorium)

A large white screen had been lowered, and a projector and speakers were projecting an image and audio of the state funeral for the late third Prince, Clovis.

The entire Ashford student body was in attendance.

The Emperor of the holy Britannian empire, Charles zi Britannia, took the podium. On one side of the podium were the elder children of the royal family, on the other was a number of Britannia's top military personnel.

Charles zi Britannia proceeded with his speech.

"All men are not born equal. Some may be swifter of foot, while others are born into poverty. Some may possess greater beauty, while others possess the worst of luck. The E.U. and their democratic system; nothing more than a glorified popularity contest. The Chinese federation; those pathetic communists and their equal distribution of wealth; lazy cattle, the lot of them. Not our beloved Britannia, we fight, and we evolve. Inequality isn't wrong, equality is. Even the death of my third son, Clovis, is but a stepping stone to even greater things to come. ALL HAIL BRITANNIA."

The crowd at the actual ceremony cheered, repeating 'All Hail Britannia' over and over.

The people watching the broadcast just stood silently.

'Leave it to him of all people to turn his child's funeral into a rally. Enjoy your place of grandeur now father, because soon, I'll be turning your funeral into a rally of my own.' Lelouch thought.

In another part of the Tokyo settlement, Hisoka stood atop a building, watching the broadcast on the gigantic news television screen downtown.

"The Britannian royal family. Such a diverse clan." Hisoka said to himself.

"Emperor Charles zi Britannia, I can see why Lelouch hates him. He's against everything a basic moral code stands for. He's closed off and confident. He seems to be a manipulator, though I think there's a good chance he could develop into a specialist."

"The first Prince, Odysseus eu Britannia, a nice enough fellow, but his ambition is as hollow as the space between his ears. Obviously an enhancer.

"The first Princess, Guinevere de Britannia, a cruel woman who sees herself as the ultimate superiority. It's safe to assume she's a transmuter, like me.

"The second Prince, Schneizel el Britannia, a gifted genius with a calm demeanor. I'm sure he's a specialist.

"The second Princess, Cornelia li Britannia, an excellent military strategist who doesn't leave anything to chance, no matter how her pride must suffer for it. The tell-tale signs of a conjurer."

"The third Prince, Clovis la Britannia, an idiot, and a cheesy one at that. He would have made an interesting emitter.

"The third Princess, Euphemia li Britannia, an optimist who believes in all that 'people should be kind to each other' nonsense. A safe bet is that she's an enhancer."

"Oh well, not like any of that makes a difference. It's not like the royal family is going to learn nen." Hisoka concluded.

Suddenly, Hisoka sensed someone walk up behind him. A familiar someone.

He was a young man with blond hair and brown eyes, he was clad in a blue tunic and had a special chain weapon attached to his hand.

"Still spider hunting I see." Hisoka taunted the young man.

Hisoka chuckled a bit and said "We may be able to help each other once again, Kurapika."

 **The last chapter had a number of dark parts, so I put a few light parts in this chapter to balance things out.**

 **Do you like that, or should I just split the difference on any individual chapter.**

 **Feedback welcome.**

 **Why can Lelouch and Hisoka keep up their ren going for so long.**

 **I think it's a ballpark estimate of Hisoka's capabilities. As for Lelouch, Hisoka wouldn't waste his time on someone who wasn't a probable prodigy.**

 **Sorry this chapter took so long. It was my birthday recently, so I took a little time off.**

… **.**

… **.**

 **Name: Daimaru Fujisaka**

 **Affinity: Transmutation**

 **Abilities:**

 **Sunshine child**

 **Sunshine beam**

 **.**

 **Name: Sunshine child (Purest light)**

 **Type: Transmutation**

 **Description:**

 **Daimaru modifies his aura to match the qualities of light. Daimaru is then able to enter a state of light speed. When the ability is in use, it causes severe tunnel vision, meaning, Daimaru can't see where he's going when the ability is active. He has to find his target based on memory. Since the human body can't handle the speed of light, Daimaru has to use a lot of aura to reinforce his body, making the ability very taxing.**

 **Name: Sunshine beam (Twin laser pistols)**

 **Type: Transmutation & Emission**

 **Description:**

 **Daimaru modifies his aura into light and then shoots it from the tips of his pointer fingers in the form of laser beams. This ability is under the condition that it can only be used after Daimaru has used up so much aura on reinforcing his body for Sunshine child that he can no longer use that ability safely.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Name: Sabrina Undergo**

 **Affinity: Specialization**

 **Abilities:**

 **Hit and run**

 **V.I.P.**

 **.**

 **Name: Hit and run (Road queen)**

 **Type: Conjuration & Manipulation**

 **Description:**

 **Sabrina creates a cherry red convertible. The car is able to drive itself while Sabrina sits in the back seat. The car can smoothly drive on any surface at speeds of up to 300 mph. To start the car, Sabrina need simply name the location she wishes to reach, and the car will stop at nothing to get Sabrina to that destination as quickly as possible without bringing harm to the rider. Once the destination has been named, it can't be changed, no matter what. By making a person the destination, the car will continue until that person gets run over. She can only make a person the target if two conditions are met. One, they have to be in the same city, and two, she needs to have met the person, introduction and all. If Sabrina leaves the car before it reaches the intended location, she'll have to wait twelve hours before she can use the ability again.**

 **Name: V.I.P. (Magnificent Excellence)**

 **Type: Specialization**

 **Description:**

 **This ability can only be used when Sabrina is at or near a location that is synonymous to a vacation spot. Examples include; the beach, a hotel, or a famous monument. Once this condition is fulfilled, Sabrina cannot be injured of exhausted no matter how many hits she takes or how much she exerts herself. This allows her to fight without having to worry about herself. This ability can only be activated once a day for twenty minutes at a time.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Name: Naota Goodman**

 **Affinity: Transmutation**

 **Abilities:**

 **Great white**

 **Aquarium**

 **Shark frenzy**

 **.**

 **Name: Great white (Ocean boss)**

 **Type: Transmutation**

 **Description:**

 **Naota modifies his aura to match the quality of a shark in the form of armor. This includes tail fins around his feet, a dorsal fin coming from his back, and razor sharp jaws around his fingers.**

 **Name: Aquarium (Danger zone)**

 **Type: Conjuration**

 **Description:**

 **Before activating this ability, Naota must fulfill the condition of drinking one liter of water. The equivalent of two average water bottles. Once this condition is fulfilled, Naota can conjure a giant bubble of water. The water bubble has a radius of eighteen meters, the length of a megalodon shark. The epicenter of the bubble is wherever Naota was standing when the ability was activated. The bubble absolutely cannot be moved from the location where it was created. This does apply to it being in mid air.**

 **The water in the bubble is breathable.**

 **No attack can penetrate the bubble from the outside, however, people are free to enter the water and then launch their attack unhindered.**

 **Naota cannot leave the border of the water for as long as this ability is active.**

 **This ability can only stay active for a maximum of one hour. If time runs out, or if the user shuts down the ability, it cannot be reactivated until Naota drinks another liter of water.**

 **The water that Naota drinks in order to activate the ability is not accumulative, meaning, drinking two liters will not allow him to activate the ability twice. He has to drink more water after the ability shuts down.**

 **Name: Shark frenzy (Blood instinct)**

 **Type: Enhancement**

 **Description:**

 **This ability can only be used when both Great white and Aquarium are active.**

 **When the water fills with the blood of Naota's victims, he becomes stronger and faster.**

 **His normal speed and strength are considered level 1. Level 2 would be double his normal speed and strength. Level 3 would be triple his initial physical abilities, and so on. His physical abilities go up one level for every liter of blood that fills up the water.**


	6. The Prince's Victory

**Chapter 6: The Prince and the Jester**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

(Britannian royal palace)

The Emperor, Charles zi Britannia, was walking down the halls of the royal palace. With him was his prodigal son, the second Prince, Schneizel el Britannia, and his personal knight, the knight of one, Sir Bismarck Waldstein. Following the group of three, was a battalion of palace guards.

"What an absolute waste of my valuable time? My third son dies and suddenly I'm expected to make a big deal out of the matter. People die everyday for goodness sake." Charles complained.

"If it's any consolation, your Majesty, your speech will surely inspire someone somewhere to create something to benefit Britannia." Bismarck offered.

"Don't attempt to glorify a headache, Bismarck." Charles scolded.

The group arrived at the door leading to the throne room.

"Remind me Schneizel, what were we talking about before all of this funeral nonsense?" Charles asked as two of the guards moved to open the doors leading to the royal throne.

"We were discussing the reconstruction efforts of the recently established area 18. The files I currently have on the topic may be a bit out of date by this point, even if by only a few days. I should probably have them updated before we continue planning." Schneizel explained.

As the door to the throne room was fully opened, Bismarck noticed something out of place.

Inside the chamber was a man sitting on the throne. He looked to be in his mid to late 20's, medium length dark hair combed back, pale skin, and soulless grey eyes. On his forehead was a tattoo of a cross. He was flipping through a book titled Bandits Secret.

"Hey, you there, who are you?" Bismarck shouted.

This caused everyone to take notice of the mystery intruder. Bismarck took a few steps toward the man while the guards moved into position to protect the Emperor and Prince.

"My name is Chrollo." The man stated without looking up from his book.

"Tell me, Chrollo, do you have any idea where you're sitting right now?" Bismarck asked while drawing his pistol.

"A place that I'm far more worthy of than the old man over there." Chrollo answered, again, not looking up from his book.

"You dare insult his Majesty?" Bismarck shouted as he started firing his gun.

The rest of the guards filled Bismarck's example and fired as well.

Chrollo stopped the assault with ease. He caught every bullet fired. He used his left hand, as his right was holding the book. After the attack was finished, he opened his hand to let the bullets fall.

Bismarck was amazed by what he saw. 'In a single moment, he caught every one of the bullets with a single hand, he even caught the ones that would have missed, just to show that he could, all without looking up from that book he's reading. It didn't even look like it hurt his hand in any way. This man isn't normal.' The knight of one thought.

Bismarck drew his sword and undid the stitching from his left eye. He opened his eye to reveal his geass.

"Emperor Charles, it has been an honor to serve you." Bismarck stated without a hint of regret.

'Bismarck actually unsealed his geass. He actually takes this man as a worthy opponent.' Charles thought.

Bismarck charged, ready to give up his life to ensure the safety of the Emperor.

Without looking up from his book, and without standing up from his seat, Chrollo countered Bismarck's assault.

Once Bismarck reached the throne, he was launched away at high speeds back to the other side of the room, straight into the wall.

'What just happened? My geass didn't predict his movements. Wait, did he even move at all?' Bismarck thought as he lost consciousness.

"This cannot be!" Charles shouted. "Bismarck Waldstein, the greatest warrior in all of the Britannian empire, if not the world, defeated in an instant?"

"Oh, good, it seems I now have your undivided attention." Chrollo stated as he closed his book.

At that moment, Chrollo suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind the Emperor. He was holding a tri-pronged knife to the Emperors neck.

At that moment, all of the guards who had been between Chrollo and the royals had all passed out and fell to the floor.

"I advise against struggling. The knife is coated with poison, and a strong one at that; 0.1 milligrams of this toxin is enough to paralyze a whale." Chrollo explained with just a pinch of sadism.

'In a fraction of an instant, he stood up from the throne, cleared twenty meters to reach us, knocked out all of the guards, got behind father, and pulled out a blade. This man, Chrollo, he can't be human. If I try to run, he'll probably kill me. I'll just have to play nice with him for now.' Schneizel thought.

"Alright, you have my attention. Why are you here? What is it you want?" Charles asked. 'If he had come here to kill me, he wouldn't have warned me about the knife being poisoned, so he is likely to spare my life. But with the level of skill he's displayed already, I have to be very careful. Until I can use my geass to rewrite his memory and turn him into my subordinate, my life will be in danger.'

"Tell me, have either of you gentlemen ever heard of nen?" Chrollo asked.

(Area 11, Viceroy's palace, Knightmare construction hanger)

"The Lancelot is a seventh generation knightmare frame, the first of its kind, the most advanced in the world." Lloyd boasted to Cornelia in an effort to convince the Princess that repairs/reconstruction of the Lancelot should take top priority.

"Strange; I read the report from Shinjuku, and if memory serves, this so called 'most advanced' weapon of yours was destroyed almost immediately." Cornelia countered.

"Please, don't remind me." Lloyd cried as he fell to his knees and broke into tears.

Cornelia rolled her eyes and turned to Darlton.

"Darlton, remind me, what are the capabilities of Zero's arsenal?" Cornelia asked.

"The first is the scythe, it seem to be able to turn intangible, thus able to bypass defenses and kill the people behind them. Second is the hammer, it packs enough force to destroy entire buildings. Next we have the shield, as far as we can tell, it seems that whatever attack the shield takes, the attacker is the one to suffer the damage. Something we were only able to figure out after Zero rescued Kururugi. It solved a number of mysterious deaths in Shinjuku." Darlton explained.

"You seem to be forgetting, Zero is in possession of another weapon. One that took the demise of my beloved Lancelot to discover." Lloyd cried. "The weapon is a gun. The victim, who was the Lancelot's pilot, told us that it seems to fire invisible bullets. He claims to have felt the shot in his chest, but it was his arm that was crippled. When examined, it seemed as though all the nerves in his arm had just died for no reason."

"That could be troubling." Cornelia noted.

"There is something else, your Highness; forensics say that all of Clovis' top officials were killed via constriction of the entire body. That would mean Zero probably has a binding type weapon that we've yet to see." Darlton added.

"An intangible blade, a quake level hammer, a damage reflecting shield, a pistol made to cripple instead of kill, and an unknown weapon of binding." Cornelia listed. "On top of all that he can make his weapons appear and disappear at will."

"That is correct, though we have yet to figure out how he can make them appear and vanish. We have come up with a few theories, but all of them fall into the category of science-fiction." Lloyd answered.

"And that doesn't even take into account that Zero has power over the element of ice. Zero will be trouble, indeed. Lloyd, forget the useless Lancelot, begin development of countermeasures to deal with Zero's weapons." Cornelia ordered.

"NOOOO!" Lloyd cried as he fainted from misery.

(Ashford Academy)

Lelouch had just come back from class, when he sensed a familiar presence in his window.

"Something happen, Hisoka?" Lelouch asked.

"There are two things that I would like you to be aware of. First, I ran into an old friend of mine, a nen user with a strong grudge against Chrollo and the Phantom troupe for massacring his family." Hisoka explained.

"It sounds like you found me a kindred spirit. Is he joining the rebellion?" Lelouch asked.

"Kurapika is still thinking over his options at the moment, but I think the chances of him becoming allies with terrorists are pretty low, sorry." Hisoka answered.

"And the other thing you wanted to tell me?" Lelouch asked.

"During your little play time in Shinjuku, I found someone who was a royal guard of the Aries villa back then." Hisoka announced.

Lelouch's eyes widened.

"Apparently, the night of the incident, Cornelia, who was in charge of palace security at the time, ordered all the guards to leave the premises." Hisoka informed.

"So, it WAS Cornelia then?" Lelouch said with anger, and an involuntary wave of malicious ren.

"Not sure, but she is definitely a prime suspect." Hisoka clarified.

"I really want to get some answers. I just can't decide. Should we just invade the Viceroy's palace, or wait for Cornelia to come out into the open?" Lelouch wondered out loud.

"I believe the smart course of action would be to wait. Cornelia no doubt wants revenge against Zero for killing Clovis. Why extend the effort to get to her when she'll extend effort to come to us?" Hisoka voiced.

"That would be the smart move." Lelouch agreed. "But you want to invade the palace instead, because it would be more of an adrenaline rush; more importance means more opponents."

"You know me so well… I don't like it." Hisoka responded

At that point, a knock was heard at the door.

"Come in!" Lelouch called, not needing to look to know that Hisoka had hidden himself.

The door opened to reveal Suzaku.

"So, what do you think?" Suzaku asked, referring to his ten. "Is my ten advanced enough that I'm ready for the next exercise?"

"Hm, I think so." Hisoka answered after he emerged from his hiding spot.

"Already?" Lelouch asked. "It took me three weeks before you decided I was ready for zetsu."

"That's because I prolonged your lessons on purpose. While you had a force of will stronger than a berserk lion, your physical body left a lot to be desired. You needed extra time to develop your muscles. You did plan to use your nen in combat after all." Hisoka explained. "Suzaku on the other hand is already physically fit, and therefore, won't be purposely hindered in his advancement."

Lelouch wanted to be mad, but knew he couldn't argue with the result.

"Now, the exercise, zetsu. The first thing you must understand is…" Hisoka began to explain.

(Student council meeting room)

Kallen and Shirley were setting up the cat house for the councils new pet.

"Hey, Kallen?" Shirley asked. "There is something about you that I just have to know." Shirley said darkly.

'Damn, has my cover been blown?' Kallen thought.

"Oh, what's that?" Kallen asked as she pulled out her makeup pouch and extended the hidden blade.

"Admit it, you're dating Lulu, aren't you?" Shirley shouted with dread.

Kallen breathed a sigh of relief and put her weapon away.

"What, where did that come from?" Kallen asked.

"Don't play dumb. Lulu said he was going to ask you out. Now you and him have disappeared in the late afternoon more than once." Shirley accused.

'Dammit, what am I supposed to tell her? I could make something up, but then Lelouch and I could get caught in a lie. Should I just use the dating thing Lelouch came up with? Oh, fine!' Kallen thought. "Okay, you got me, he and I are dating." Kallen replied.

"Waaaaaah, I knew it!" Shirley shouted as tears came shooting from her eyes.

(The principal's office)

"But mom, do I have to?" Milly shouted into the phone.

" _You know as well as I do that an arranged marriage to a noble will help the Ashford family to regain our former glory that we lost upon the assassination of Empress Marianne." She replied to her daughter._

(Saitama ghetto)

"The Saitama ghetto, hiding place of the terrorist group known as the Yamato alliance, and the soon to be location of Zero's demise." Cornelia listed.

"I'll be honest, I didn't think Lloyd would have the countermeasures against Zero's abilities so soon." Guilford stated.

"Apparently, he was already developing them. He wanted revenge against the man who destroyed his precious Lancelot. The upgrades to your knightmare have been in development since the incident in Shinjuku." Darlton explained.

"Once Zero makes his appearance, you will head out and challenge him. Keep in mind though, the countermeasures that your knightmare frame has been upgraded with are mere prototypes, and a rush job on top of that. Do you understand Guilford?" Cornelia explained.

"Yes your Highness." Guilford answered.

"In a best case scenario, Zero will meet his end here, however, our only intention today is to test the parameters of the knightmare upgrades. If it looks like Zero has even a small chance of claiming victory, I want you to get out of there. All we need to consider today as a victory, is to know how much farther we need to push our anti-Zero technology." Cornelia explained.

"Your Highness, if I may, how do you intend to bring Zero here." Jeremiah questioned.

"That's where you come in Jeremiah. I want you to direct the assault on the Yamato alliance so that it looks exactly like Clovis's raid on Shinjuku. If Zero is the kind of person I believe him to be, then he will come. That is why we're going to broadcast the where and when of our attack over the news. Zero will no doubt come here to try and kill me." Cornelia explained.

"YOUR HIGHNESS, YOU CAN'T" Jeremiah shouted. "A member of the royal family cannot simply gamble with her life."

"What you seem to fail to understand is that war is a struggle between pride and life." Cornelia countered.

(Ashford, Lelouch's apartment)

After witnessing the news broadcast, Lelouch, Suzaku, and Hisoka were conversing over what they were going to do.

"Well, that's the most obvious trap I've ever seen." Commented Hisoka. "And for me, that's saying something."

"You're not actually going to go, are you?" Suzaku questioned.

"Why not? After all, they went to so much trouble to invite me, I might as well." Lelouch answered.

"I think I'll go with you. It's been almost four hours since I've killed someone. I'm getting a bit antsy." Hisoka decided.

"Do you expect me to come as well?" Suzaku asked, not wanting to be part of the group fighting against the military.

"No, you just stay home and practice zetsu." Lelouch answered, much to Suzaku's relief.

"Aren't you worried Suzaku might be called in to join the infantry in Saitama." Hisoka questioned.

Lelouch, with a grin on his face, answered calmly and confidently. "That's not an issue. Cornelia rarely puts her trust in anyone outside of her personal battalion, much less someone foreign born. As long as Cornelia is Viceroy, Suzaku will never be called to arms by the government."

"I see! All the better for his nen training then." Hisoka responded.

Lelouch and Hisoka walked out. Hisoka walking in front, of course, Lelouch had learned that lesson.

Suzaku was left alone. "Okay, close my aura nodes and shut down the flow completely. Keep all the aura inside my body." Suzaku focused and followed the instructions that Hisoka had given him.

(Saitama ghetto, Yamato alliance hideout, one hour later)

"This is bad news."

"That's it. It's all over now."

"What can we do?"

"I'm not ready to die yet."

The members of the Yamato alliance were crying and voicing their fears. They didn't believe they had any chance of beating Princess Cornelia, the person who earned the title Goddess of Victory.

"You can stop your whining now." A voice called loudly from the shadows.

Everyone turned in the direction the voice had come from. They saw an armor clad figure holding a scythe step out from the darkness. It was Lelouch with his Black king and Black queen, but to the rebel group, it was Zero; it was hope.

"Consider yourselves lucky; I have arrived to be your salvation. All of you can just stay back and keep your heads down, I will fight them myself." Zero announced. With the charisma generation of the Black king armor, combined with a gyo enhanced voice, Lelouch was very convincing.

The Yamato alliance, their fears and doubts left behind, started to cheer.

"Alright, we're saved!"

"Nothing to worry about now, Zero is the best anti-Britannian weapon there is."

"THANK YOU… THANK YOU… WAAAAHH!"

Zero began walking away, toward the coming battle, the whole while thinking 'Immature, the lot of them. Their lack of discipline is what would have caused their imminent failure. Their lucky I showed up when I did.'

(Britannian mobile base)

"So far, so good." Jeremiah stated.

At that moment, several IFF signals had begun to be reported lost, one after another.

"It's him." Cornelia stated.

"All personnel, regroup with the perimeter guard." Darlton ordered over the radio.

Darlton turned around and spared a look at his long time comrade. "Guilford, don't you dare die."

"I make no promises." Guilford replied as he walked out of the room and made his way to the hanger where his personal Knightmare was ready to launch.

'Those upgrades had better work.' Guilford thought.

(Flashback)

"The first thing I want to explain is what I came up with to counter Zero's ice. Below the armor plating, you'll find heating modules that automatically trigger should the surrounding temperature drop to a certain point." Lloyd explained.

"As for that troublesome hammer, I've installed the same blaze luminous used by my beloved Lancelot. It has already proven itself capable of blocking the hammer, though it did get knocked back quite a ways away. That said, I've installed extra bracers in your knightmare's legs. It should be three times sturdier than precious Lancelot was." Lloyd continued.

"Let's move on to the scythe, it turns intangible but still cuts through flesh. I couldn't really figure out a non-fictional way around that, so I just had the armor painted with the blood of recently executed death row prisoners. It's one of those 'hope for the best situations'." Lloyd explained.

"As for the other weapons, the shield, gun, and unknown binding tool, there really isn't much I can do, at least, not at this point in time. The shield will only cause you harm if your attack hits it, as far as we can tell, I mean. The gun probably won't hurt you as long as you're protected inside the knightmare. The binding; we don't possess enough information. All I can do now is wish you luck; you're going to need it." Lloyd finished.

"THE LANCELOT MUST BE AVENGED!" Lloyd cried.

(Flashback end)(Knightmare hanger)

"Time to see if the mad scientist actually knew what he was doing." Guilford said to himself as he boarded his knightmare.

Guilford took off for the location where the IFF signals had disappeared.

(In the middle of the ghetto)

"Odd. Where did they all go?" Zero asked himself. "Well, I guess their about to spring their trap then. I'm already here, so the knightmare's have done their job, and they probably wouldn't want their own personelle to become unnecessary casualties."

Lelouch activated his en and expanded it to the maximum radius he could perform, 35 meters.

"I don't know what they're planning, so I better play it safe, Black knight." Lelouch said as he conjured his shield.

Lelouch waited a few moments and then got infuriated.

"It's true what they say, waiting really IS the worst part. I wish I could expand my en further. It'd be easier for me if I could just scan the entire ghetto, but the ghetto is several kilometers across, even Hisoka can't spread his en that far." Lelouch groaned.

Suddenly, Lelouch heard rumblings coming from down the street.

Zero turned and saw the personal knightmare frame of Cornelia's personal knight, Guilford.

Lelouch shut down his en and conjured his hammer. "Black rook."

Lelouch charged toward the coming foe and thought to himself 'Guilford? Guilford is your big plan? And here I was worried for a second there. Sorry Guilford, but you and your knightmare will share the same fate today. Too bad too, it looks like his knightmare just got a fresh coat of red paint.'

Lelouch used gyo to strengthen his legs and jumped towards Guilford.

He swung his 10,000 ton hammer, but Guilford blocked with the blaze luminous. Guilford's knightmare was knocked back by the impact, but thanks to the upgraded bracers, Guilford was only sent a little more than 120 meters away.

'That forcefield again. It's just like that other knightmare from Shinjuku.' Lelouch thought as he made his hammer disappear.

Lelouch's phone started to ring, so he picked it up to answer it. 'I thought the next meeting wasn't until tomorrow.' Lelouch thought as he saw the caller ID. It was the student council landline.

"Is he stopping to take a phone call?" Guilford asked angrily. "Does he really think so little of me? I'd like to blast him with every missile I can fire, but that shield would just reflect the harm back to me."

(Ashford student council room)

Shirley slammed the phone back onto its hooks.

"WAAAAHH, I just can't do it, I can't confess to him." Shirley cried.

(Back to the ghetto)

"Huh, I guess they hung up." Lelouch said to himself. "Oh well, back to business."

"Just go ahead and try to freeze me, it won't work like it did on the Lancelot." Guilford said, despite the fact that Zero couldn't hear him.

'I don't have permission to destroy the ghetto, so I can't use Ice out. Since it's Guilford, I know just the thing to end this fight.' Lelouch thought.

"Black bishop." Zero said as he conjured his chain. 'Guilford would die a thousand painful deaths for Cornelia. Such perfect prey for my Black bishop.'

"A chain. So that must be the unknown binding." Guilford realized out loud.

Zero whipped the chain toward the upgraded knightmare and it coiled around its target.

"What?" Guilford uttered. "Not good, this chain is a wildcard. I thinks it's about time for me to eject."

Guilford activated the ejection mechanism, but the pilots box didn't launch.

"It jammed?" Guilford questioned.

The truth was something different.

'You can't get away Guilford, the chain wrapped around your knightmare is far too strong. There's no way you can launch through it. It's a good thing I have the condition saying I have to wear Black king before using my other weapons. Without that limitation, I doubt the chain would have been strong enough.' Zero thought.

"Damn, what now?" Guilford asked.

"Your loyalty will be your undoing." Zero stated as he activated the judgement power of the Black bishop.

(Mobile base command center)

Up on the monitor, Guilford's IFF signal had been read as lost.

Darlton punched the wall, leaving a fist shaped indent in the metal.

Jeremiah stared in horror, the very idea that Zero defeated a pilot of Guilford's caliber so quickly, in an upgraded knightmare no less.

Cornelia was entering a state of depression; her most loyal comrade, presumed dead.

As they were about to decide what to do next, the door opened to reveal a clown like man with pink flame hair. At his feet were the corpses of the guards who were stationed in the mobile base.

"Second Princess Cornelia li Britannia, my name is Hisoka, and I'm afraid you'll have to come with me now." Hisoka said as he shuffled a deck of cards.

"You dare threaten to kidnap her Highness?" Darlton threatened as he drew his sword.

Jeremiah had a very different reaction. Seeing the clown caused repressed memories to resurface.

Jeremiah took a few steps back in fear, knowing what this clown was capable of. When Jeremiah reached the wall, he fell to the floor and started gasping for air.

'Why does Gottwald seem so panicked?' Darlton thought.

'Something isn't right here. Those dead guards, I can see cuts all over them, but the killer doesn't seem to be holding a blade.' Cornelia noticed.

Hisoka took a few steps forward and drew four cards from his deck. Hisoka infused his cards with shu and threw them with great force toward Darlton.

The cards sliced through Darltons arms and legs just above the elbows and knees.

As Darlton's now limbless torso hit the floor, Hisoka mused "If I'm lucky, you'll come back with prosthetic limbs, and I'll get to have more fun."

"Bastard!" Darlton shouted from the ground, trying to ignore the immense pain.

"How about you? You want to try and stop me?" Hisoka said with a sinister smirk, turning to Jeremiah. As Hisoka said this, he released a small dose of malice.

Jeremiah could only cower, thinking 'This creature is a demon.'

"I guess that's a no." Hisoka stated.

"Now Princess, shall we be on our way?" Hisoka asked, turning back to Cornelia.

Cornelia, the warrior that she is, stood up and drew her pistol.

She pulled the trigger without hesitation, aiming for the intruders forehead.

Hisoka smiled. He dodged the shot easily and held up his fingers in a peace sign. The bullet passed between his finger and hit the Bungee gum Hisoka had transmuted between them.

The Bungee gum stretched as the bullet flew, until finally, the Bungee gum recoiled and slingshotted the bullet back to Cornelia.

The bullet grazed her cheek before hitting the wall. Hisoka needed her alive after all.

Cornelia's body was shaking. "What? Why did the bullet change direction?"

Cornelia dropped to her knees as the gun fell from her hands. Despite being a war veteran, just then was the closest she had ever come to death.

Hisoka disappeared and then reappeared behind the Princess. He gave her a good chop on the neck, knocking her out.

Hisoka picked up the unconscious royal and hoisted her over his shoulder. He carried her out of the room as Darlton bled out and Jeremiah underwent his second mental breakdown in less than a month.

"Well, I think that went well." Hisoka mused as he walked away.

(Yamato alliance hideout)

Cornelia awoke to find a bottle of smelling salts under her head. When she came to her senses, she noticed that she was tied to a chair, and standing in front of her, was Zero.

"I'm sure you have questions Princess. First, we are currently in the headquarters of the Yamato alliance. Second, the clown man who captured you is my associate, that's all you need to know about him. Third, during and after your capture, I took out the Britannian encirclement around the ghetto. The ones I didn't destroy retreated before anyone even knew what happened to you. By my estimate, only thirty or forty percent survived and got away. Naturally, the Yamato alliance is extremely grateful and have agreed to join under me." Zero explained.

"I believe that should answer all of your questions, save for one. 'Why did they bring me here instead of just killing me?'" Zero noted.

Cornelia had to admit, she was rather curious.

"The reason is because I have questions for you." Zero answered.

"Capturing one of your enemies top military officials. Perhaps you're really not just some run of the mill terrorist after all." Cornelia responded.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! HA HA HA HA HA!" Zero laughed. "Oh please, I think I'm doing pretty well without any inside knowledge, thank you very much."

Cornelia's eyes widened; if Zero didn't want military secrets, then what DID he want.

"This is not about war, Corny. I would like you to tell me about the assassination of the Empress Consort Marianne. I have a personal interest in the case you see." Zero explained.

"What interest? Are you the killer? Do you want to know how close we are to finding out that you did it, is that it?" Cornelia shouted angrily.

"You should really calm down. Too much stress is disastrous for your health." Zero said.

"So is being captured by terrorists." Cornelia responded.

"Fair point." Zero stated.

"Now, back to what I want to know. I'm told you dismissed the guards from the villa the night of the murder. Is this true." Zero asked, activating his en to search for the twitches of deceit.

"Yes, it's true." Cornelia admitted.

"Why?" Zero asked.

"It was on Lady Mariannes request." Cornelia responded.

"Why did she request her guards leave?" Zero questioned.

"I don't know, I didn't ask." Cornelia stated.

"And you still complied with such a request?" Zero questioned.

"I idolized the great Marianne the Flash. Whatever request she made of me, I carried out, because I was sure she knew what she was doing." Cornelia cried out as tears began to run down her face.

"Do you have any idea who the killer might be? A lead? A list of possible suspects? Anything?" Zero asked.

"No." Was Cornelia's response. "Almost a decade, and I have nothing."

Zero's en told him that Cornelia was telling the truth.

"Then I have no need to keep you here." Zero said as he walked to a place behind Cornelia and gave her a chop to the back of the neck, knocking her out once more.

(Ashford student council building)

Suzaku was heading home, after practicing zetsu for the past three hours.

As he was walking, he bumped into someone. That someone was Milly.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking." Suzaku apologized.

"Hey, aren't you that new student, the eleven." Milly asked.

"That's right, and my name is Suzaku." Suzaku answered.

"So, what are you doing at the student council clubhouse anyway." Milly questioned.

'Shit! What am I supposed to tell her?' Suzaku thought. 'Ah, to hell with it, Lelouch did say he doesn't care.' "I'm actually here to visit Lelouch and Nunnally. We knew each other back before the occupation." Suzaku said.

(Viceroy's palace, medical ward, about five hours later)

Cornelia awoke to find herself in a hospital bed. When she looked around she saw that she was in a white room filled with various medical equipment. Sitting on a chair next to her bed, was Zeno, reading a newspaper.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake." Zeno said, looking up from his paper.

"What happened?" Cornelia asked weakly.

"You were found unconscious just outside the palace. Your condition is very mild; only cuts and bruises. If I had to guess, you'll probably be discharged sometime tomorrow morning. Darlton is very lucky to be alive right now, given that all four limbs were severed. Fortunately for him, he was found just in time. The doctors managed to stop the bleeding and a set of prosthetic limbs are being crafted as we speak. Gottwald had a fear induced heart attack and is currently resting, although, there is a strong possibility that all that he's been through in the last two weeks is going to make him decide to leave the military altogether." Zeno explained.

"And Guilford?" Cornelia asked.

"Even more luckier than Darlton. He had been legally dead for about nine minutes when they got to him. He has over eighty broken bones, and many of his organs will need to be transplanted. The only thing keeping him going right now is the numerous machines he's hooked up to, and the multiple doctors tending to him. If he weren't someone of such high status, they probably would have just pulled the plug already." Zeno answered.

"How long?" Cornelia asked.

"It's been about seven hours and thirty minutes since you disappeared from the Saitama raid, and roughly five hours since you were found." Zeno answered.

"I was captured by Zero." Cornelia admitted. "Why did he let me live."

"If I had to guess, I think Zero is trying to give you a message. He's saying that he's the one who decides whether the royal family lives or dies." Zeno responded.

"That bastard!" Cornelia stated as she fell back into unconsciousness.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, the doctors gave you a sedative for fear that you might go into a panic upon waking." Zeno said as he went back to his newspaper.

(On top of a building somewhere)

"So, what do you think of my star pupil?" Hisoka asked.

"From what I can tell, his nen was developed with winning a war in mind. That much is obvious." Kurapika answered.

"And while it's better against multiple non-nen users, he could still fight one-on-one quite well." Hisoka noted. "So, have you come to a decision?"

"Still thinking." Kurapika answered.

"I hope you figure it out soon. Don't forget, the spiders want both of us dead." Hisoka reminded.

 **So, that's the end of chapter 6.**

 **Feel free to comment. I want to improve my work.**

 **Sorry this chapter is so late. The person I go to for pre-reading and editing came down with something. Then I had to go out of town for my cousins wedding. It was terrible. The trip was kinda exhausting so we needed a few days to rest.**


	7. The Prince's Court Jester

**Chapter 7: The Prince and the Jester**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

(Ashford student council meeting room)

"Listen up everyone." Milly announced. "I'd like to introduce the newest member of the student council, Suzaku Kururugi."

(Flashback)

"I'm actually here to visit Lelouch and Nunnally. We knew each other back before the occupation." Suzaku said.

"Oh, you're friends with Lelouch and Nunnally?" Milly asked.

Milly thought for a moment and asked "Hey, have you joined a club yet? It's a graduation requirement, you know."

"No, I haven't yet. Honestly, it's gonna be pretty difficult with the entire campus discriminating against me." Suzaku answered.

"You know what? I think I have a solution to your problem." Milly stated.

(Flashback end)

"Uh, Miss President, are you sure you thought this through?" Nina asked.

'Oh, that's right, Nina is xenophobic.' Lelouch thought.

"When do I ever do anything that you're allowed to disagree with?" Milly asked with authority in her voice.

"Wait, say that again?" Rivalz asked.

"Listen up new guy, since you're joining the student council, it's customary to have a welcome party, but that's gonna have to wait until we get back. Nina, Shirley, and yours truly are going to an all night, girl's night at the Lake Kawaguchi hotel." Milly explained.

"I don't think she's listening." Kallen stated.

"Does she ever?" Lelouch asked rhetorically.

(Viceroy's palace, Cornelia's office)

Cornelia was sitting slouched in her chair looking half dead. 'This is not how things were supposed to play out. I never imagined that Zero would defeat me so easily. On top of that, it will take Darlton weeks, or even months to learn how to properly use his new prosthetics. Then there's Guilford. The monitor says he's alive, but I'm not sure if I believe it.' She thought.

"You look a little down. Care for some sushi." Zeno asked after stepping out from the shadows.

'And then there's the creepy old man who I can't get rid of.' Cornelia thought. "I'm not a fan of raw fish." She responded.

Zeno shrugged his shoulders and said "More for me, then." Zeno then used his chopsticks to pick up a small octopus that Cornelia wasn't sure about whether or not it was actually dead. Zeno swallowed the possibly living creature whole.

"Cornelia li Britannia, renowned for never losing on the battlefield. This record earned her the title 'The Goddess of Victory'. Now, that record has been broken." Zeno said mockingly. "I'm not sure if 'Goddess of Victory' will remain your title for much longer. Once word spreads about your loss in Saitama, you'll likely be stripped of your divine status." He said pleased.

"Then I'll just have to make sure word doesn't spread." Cornelia decided.

"I'm afraid that it's likely too late for a cover up. The soldiers who survived the Saitama battle have probably recounted their tale by now." Zeno pointed out.

Cornelia banged her head to the desk, realizing that Zeno had a point.

'Damn, this is because I was stuck in the infirmary. If only I hadn't been taken, I could have orchestrated a cover up.' Cornelia thought.

That's when Cornelia remembered her conversation with Zero.

'Why does Zero have an interest in the murder of Marianne?' Cornelia thought.

"You know, I was in Saitama the other day, and I saw the whole battle, if you can even call it that." Zeno revealed.

"And you couldn't have stopped me from being kidnapped?" Cornelia asked aggravated.

"No, then I would have missed the Knightmare demolition derby." Zeno answered.

Cornelia could actually feel steam coming from her ears.

"My point is, Zero displayed a very impressive showing. Though, the jury is out on whether or not he could be considered an elite combatant." Zeno explained.

"After all he's shown, how could he not be elite?" Cornelia question, her anger only rising.

"In my opinion, you're only elite if you achieve the Spirit Echo." Zeno stated.

"Spirit Echo?" Cornelia asked.

"It's a phenomenon that occurs when two powerful fighters clash. For a single instant, time seems to slow down and the two combatants can actually read each other's minds. It's similar to when you're about to die, time slows down and your life flashes before your eyes. Actually, Spirit Echo is more credible, since the fighters learn each other's thought and gain information that only the other fighter could have possessed." Zeno explained.

"I see, and have you ever experienced this 'Spirit Echo'?" Cornelia asked skeptically.

"Yes, plenty of times, though, the only person who was strong enough to fight me at a level that triggered the Spirit Echo… was Isaac Netero." Zeno stated.

"Isaac Netero?" Cornelia asked.

"He was the only person ever to fight my grandfather and live to tell the tale." Zeno reminisced.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Cornelia questioned.

"If Zero can't access the Spirit Echo, then that proves he's not really elite, thus giving you a chance." Zeno stated.

"For my sake, I hope your right." Cornelia stated.

"Now, are you sure you don't want to try the sushi?" Zeno asked.

(Later that day, Abandoned tunnels under Shinjuku)

The Kozuki group was entering a very large vehicle.

"Welcome." Greeted Lelouch who was already inside the vehicle. "From this day forward, this will be our primary base of operations."

"This place is enormous. There's even a second floor." Nagata stated.

"There's even a T.V.." Tamaki noted.

"Lelouch, exactly how did you get this thing?" Ohgi asked.

"Let's just say it involved me, a nobleman, and a knife set. Would you like me to elaborate?" Lelouch answered.

"No, I most definitely do not." Ohgi responded.

Minami decided to turn the television on, just for kicks. It was actually fortunate that he did so, because the news was reporting a very important story.

"Terrorists who claim to be members of the Japan Liberation Front have seized control of the Lake Kawaguchi hotel and have taken all of the guests hostage. The terrorists, led by Lieutenant Colonel Josui Kusakabe, launched their attack as the Sakuradite trade agreements were being made in the hotel convention center. For those of you who don't know, Sakuradite is a material that is vital to the production of high temperature superconductors. Area eleven is the world's leading producer of this element, producing roughly seventy percent of the world's total supply. The balance of distribution is a factor that heavily affects relations between the Britannian empire and other nations." The anchor announced.

The camera cut to footage sent by the terrorists. "As you can see, the minister of trade has indeed been captured along with a large number of other people, some of whom are confirmed students." The news woman said.

"From the council." Kallen said as she recognized Milly, Shirley, and Nina. "Lelouch, we have to…"

"We can't." Lelouch cut her off.

"What, why not?" Kallen asked.

"Because Cornelia doesn't care about hostages, nor does she care about the people's opinion of her. The hotel will be full of missiles the instant Cornelia arrives on the scene. She's probably almost there now; we would never get there in time." Lelouch explained grimly.

"Actually, we may have more time than you think." Hisoka said, revealing his presence.

"Hisoka, when did you get here?" Lelouch asked.

"I was actually here before you were." Hisoka answered. "Anyway, Cornelia won't be able to launch a full scale assault. There's a person of note among the hostages. I don't think the JLF realizes what they have, or else they would have acted on it by now."

"What are you talking about?" Lelouch questioned.

(Outside the Lake Kawaguchi hotel)

Suzaku stood with the military, waiting to see what they would do about the terrorist situation.

'I doubt the Princess or any of the higher ups will order any of the honorary Britannians to make a move. They probably suspect us of being willing to side with the enemy. I assume the only reason the Japanese soldiers are here is because of the major loss of troops during the raids on Shinjuku and Saitama.' Suzaku thought. 'Perimeter guard isn't exactly glamorous, but it looks like that's all we're being trusted with for now.

Suzaku looked up at the building and noticed something on the roof. It was a group of people. Most of them were terrorists, but one was one of the hostages.

"Our demands haven't been met! This is the consequence." One of the terrorist shouted over a speaker.

"No, don't do it." Suzaku said quietly.

The criminals pushed the man off of the roof and he fell to his death.

"From here on out, we will execute one hostage every thirty minutes until our demands are met." The terrorist shouted.

'Lelouch, where are you?' Suzaku thought as he fell to his knees and tried to prevent himself from throwing up.

(Inside the hotel)

"Cornelia has arrived, she's known for her ruthlessness and intelligence." Kusakabe explained.

"That's what you have me here for." Said a man covered in bandages and wearing boxing gloves.

"I hope you can forgive me for saying so, but even knowing your abilities, I have my doubts you'll be of that much help." Kusakabe replied.

"Hey, that's not very nice, especially considering I'm here out of the goodness of my heart, and also because I was bored." The bandaged man retorted.

"Just don't disappoint me, Bonolenov." Kusakabe demanded as Bonolenov walked out to go confront the military.

(Inside the mobile base)

"What? He's here? Why now of all times?" Cornelia cried in panic as she rushed out of the room to her personal knightmare frame.

(With the news team)

"Our ratings are going to be record breaking!" Diethard shouted with excitement.

(In front of the main bridge to the hotel)

Zero was walking up to the bridge. The hammer in his right hand and the shield in his left.

The Britannian soldiers were letting him through without argument. They knew what he was capable of, and they didn't want to be on the receiving end.

As Zero was about to reach the bridge, Cornelia's knightmare charged in and blocked his path.

"Zero, why have you come here?" Cornelia shouted over the speaker system of her knightmare. If you were listening, you would have heard that her voice was a mixture of anger and fear, as opposed to her normal calm and collected tone.

"Well Cornelia, I've already proven that I can beat you in battle, I thought I might rub salt in your wounds by proving I can do your job better than you can." Zero shouted with his gyo voice.

"And what makes you think I'll simply let you pass by?" Cornelia demanded.

"Let's not play that game, Princess, we both know you can't stop me." Zero replied.

Cornelia could only grit her teeth in anger knowing that Zero was correct.

"Hold on, Cornelia might not be able to stop you, but I can." Shouted a new voice from the bridge.

Cornelia turned her knightmare around to say who made such a claim. An action that gave Zero an unobstructed view.

They saw a man wrapped in bandages wearing boxing gloves.

Lelouch's eyes widened behind his mask. 'That man, I recognize him from the pictures Hisoka showed me.' Lelouch thought.

"Your name is Bonolenov, is that right?" Zero questioned with his Gyo voice.

"So you do know who I am. I suppose that confirms that you really are Hisoka's disciple, or at the very least, his ally." Bonolenov stated in a Gyo voice of his own.

"Tell me, what reason does the Phantom Troupe have for siding with the JLF?" Zero questioned.

"Actually, I only allied with these people for the night because I was bored." Bonolenov explained. "But, a job is a job, the least I can do is take it seriously."

Bonolenov unraveled his wrappings to reveal the openings all over his body.

'What the hell, are those moles?' Cornelia thought. 'No, they're holes.'

"I see, so that's how it is." Zero stated as he dismissed his hammer and conjured the Black queen Scythe in its place.

Bonolenov began his dance, followed by the activation of his ability. "Battle Contabile: Prologue!" Bonolenov was now wearing a tribal style suit of armor, complete with a mask and spear.

Cornelia stared wide eyed from inside her knightmare. 'That armor and the spear. He made them appear out of nowhere. This man… He's the same as Zero.' Cornelia thought with a panic.

"Let's see what you can do, Zero." Bonolenov taunted.

Zero was about to charge into battle. 'This will be the first time I fight another nen user. Let's see if I have what it takes.' Lelouch thought with conviction.

"Hold on, Zero." Another voice called from behind the masked rebel.

Zero turned to see Hisoka walking toward him.

'Hisoka emerged, from the shadows? Why would he do that? Does he not think I'm ready to fight another nen user?' Lelouch thought confused.

"That's the clown who captured me and severed Darlton's limbs." Cornelia said to no one in particular.

"Hisoka, dammit." Bonolenov uttered as he took a defensive stance.

"Do you really not trust me to handle this?" Zero questioned.

"I have faith in your skill set, however, Bonolenov might prove to have an advantage against you. All things considered, I mean." Hisoka explained.

"If you say so." Zero conceded.

"Don't worry, I'll deal with this one myself." Hisoka stated.

Lelouch's eyes widened. 'Now that I think about it, I've never seen Hisoka in a real fight before.'

Hisoka stepped forward towards his opponent and pulled out his deck of cards.

'This isn't good, I didn't think I'd have to deal with Hisoka so soon, and without the other troupe members. My Battle Contabile was already at a disadvantage against Bungee Gum, and he probably spent the last two years getting stronger.' Bonolenov thought.

Hisoka rushed forward at full speed with his Shu strengthened cards in hand.

Bonolenov and Hisoka began to clash. As card met blade, it unleashed an immense wind that could be felt by onlookers a ways away.

"The wind is so strong, and from this far away." Suzaku said as the other soldiers around him were left unable to stand by a combination of strong wind and malicious aura coming their way. Unlike Suzaku, who was still able to stand, they didn't have aura to protect and strengthen their bodies.

"What the hell?" Kusakabe questioned as he was watching the fight from the hotel window. A window which, like the others on the battle facing side of the building, began to crack. Some of the windows had even broken.

"It's like something out of a comic book. It's a good thing our cameras were made to withstand natural disasters. My career will reach legendary levels with this footage." Diethard said as he took the camera from the camera man, not trusting his staff member enough to get the battle on camera.

'This is a battle between two master nen users' Suzaku thought.

'There's no way I can get to the hotel through that catastrophe.' Lelouch thought. 'I'll just head to one of the raised bridges on the sides and jump from section to section.'

Zero began walking toward the bridge on the right side of the hotel, but he didn't go unseen.

As he was about to reach the raised bridge, Diethard, the camera still rolling, approached him and asked "Zero, do you think you could perhaps give us some info on the two people fighting on the main bridge?"

"The clown is an associate of mine, that's all you need to know about him." Zero answered. "As for the other man, his name is Bonolenov Ndongo, he is descended from the Gyudondond tribe. When Gyudondond males turn three years old, needles are place all throughout their bodies. Over time, these needles are replaced with thicker and thicker sticks, making the holes permanent. By performing different dance moves, thus forcing air through the holes, they can produce a variety of different sounds. They're known as the bap: dancing warriors. The greatest bap users are exalted as gods and have more authority than even the tribes leaders. Before going into battle or on a hunt, they hold a music festival, using their own bodies as instruments. They believe that the more beautiful the music, the more powerful the spirits that are summoned to help them in the coming trials. Now, if you don't mind, I'm kind of in a hurry."

As Lelouch continued toward the bridge he thought 'I didn't think I would get an opportunity like this. Hisoka and Bonolenov having a comic book style fight, mentioning the Gyudondond tribe and the Phantom Troupe, plus anything else that might happen later on. Between all of that, theories and rumors will go flying in all directions. I'll be more than happy to take advantage of the resulting confusion and chaos."

Lelouch made it to the raised bridge, and as planned, he began jumping from section to section.

(The main bridge)

Following an intense trade of blows, Hisoka and Bonolenov each leapt back to take a breath. Both fighters were covered in cuts, but neither had taken any severe damage.

'Something isn't right here.' Bonolenov thought. 'Hisoka's Bungee Gum has a strong advantage over my Battle Contabile, and he knows it, yet he hasn't used Bungee Gum, not even once. Why is that? Is he not trying to kill me?'

That's when Bonolenov realized something. The reason that Hisoka had yet to use his ability. The understanding had caused Bonolenov's eyes to widen.

'That's it, killing me. He knows how much pride I feel for my tribe. He suspects my nen will trigger post-mortem. He wants to make sure that I experience despair before he delivers the killing blow. It seems that he's become far less reckless after his death and revival.' Bonolenov thought.

As the tribesman was unraveling the magician's strategy, Hisoka was having a conversation with himself.

'Should I use it? I was saving it for my rematch with Chrollo. Is now the right time to unveil it? My new nen ability!' Hisoka thought.

(Inside the hotel, the room where the hostages were being held)

Milly, Shirley, and Nina were crouched on the floor, the latter was cowering as her xenophobia was running on overdrive.

As one of the terrorist guards walked by, Nina couldn't stop herself from stammering "A-an eleven."

This caused said terrorist guard to become very, very angry.

"What did you call me?" He shouted angrily "Not elevens, we're Japanese."

"Alright, we get it. Lay off her." Milly argued.

"If you understand than correct her." The guard demanded.

"Alright, we will, we understand." Shirley pleaded.

"I don't think you do." The guard accused. "You three, come with me so I can teach you a lesson." He demanded as he grabbed Nina by the arm.

"NO, Let me go!" Nina cried desperately.

"Stop it, right now." Demanded a pink haired woman who stood up from among the hostages.

"Who are you?" The guard demanded angrily.

"You are addressing Euphemia li Britannia, third Princess of the empire." Euphemia announced.

Everyone in the room, terrorist and hostage alike went wide eyed at the declaration. The only one who wasn't shocked was Euphemia's attendant.

"I demand you take me to your leader." Euphemia stated.

The terrorists happily complied, knowing what having the Emperor's daughter as a hostage would do for their cause.

(Kusakabe's room)

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Zero. I apologize for Bonolenov giving you such a rude welcome. He was supposed to keep the military off of us and you just happened to be there as well." Kusakabe apologized.

Lelouch rolled his eyes behind his helmet. "It's not a problem, my connection to him is a different matter entirely." Zero answered.

"Now, if you don't mind, could you perhaps remove your mask? It's very disrespectful." Kusakabe questioned.

"This may surprise you Kusakabe, but I have little interest in showing respect. It's a useless practice that I find both pointless, and tedious. I prefer to get straight to business. If an agreement can be made, than I'll go the extra mile to be polite." Zero explained.

'Not what I was expecting.' Kusakabe thought. 'Most Japanese would put more effort into being courteous.'

"But if you insist…" Zero walked over to the curtains and closed them. He turned back to Kusakabe and used In to make his helmet disappear.

When Kusakabe saw Zero's true face, he was so shocked, he dropped his sword. His two guards were just as surprised.

"Y-you're a Britannian?" Kusakabe stuttered.

"I am, my name is Lelouch." The young man introduced himself. 'Either they will become my allies, or I'll kill them. It doesn't really matter which.'

"Is there a problem with that, Kusakabe?" Lelouch asked.

"Uh… No, not at all." Kusakabe responded as he picked up his sword.

"In that case, perhaps you could tell me what exactly you hope to accomplish with this little stunt of yours." Lelouch requested.

"To gain attention. We're letting the world know that the Japanese are still alive." Kusakabe answered.

"How idiotic." Lelouch stated.

"What did you say?" Kusakabe demanded angrily.

"How will an overzealous announcement of your existence further your ultimate goals? It won't, in fact, it actually makes your goals more difficult to achieve. If you are forgotten, then you can move more freely." Lelouch explained. "A countless number of terrorist organizations all over the world have been annihilated because they used hostage executions and suicide bombings to simply announce their existence over and over, rather than actually using real strategy to achieve their ambitions."

"Grrr, that's enough out of you." Kusakabe shouted as he drew his sword and jumped at Lelouch.

Lelouch released the In on his helmet and easily retaliated against the soldiers attack. Lelouch moved out of the way at just the right moment and then grabbed onto Kusakabe's neck.

"Cold shoulder." Zero stated as Kusakabe was frozen over almost instantly.

"Colonel?" "Sir?" The two guards shouted. They then raised their firearms and pointed them at Zero.

"Don't worry." Zero stated. "Your boss is still alive. He'll survive if you thaw him carefully. However, his body is in a very brittle state right now. The tiniest bump could cause him to shatter." Zero raised his fist into the air and focused Gyo into his knuckles. "For example, if I were to do… THIS." Zero punched Kusakabe in the torso, shattering the frozen man.

The two guards, horrified by what Zero had just done, fired their guns. Unfortunately for them though, Zero was prepared for this incredibly predictable outcome.

"Black knight." Zero said as he conjured his shield.

The instant the bullets hit the shield, both guards immediately died from bullet wounds; the first from a hole through his head, the other, a hole through his neck.

The gunfire was heard from outside the door where the terrorists had just arrived with the captive Princess. The terrorist guards immediately opened the door to see what was going on.

They saw the broken, still frozen remains of Kusakabe, the two guards dead from gunshot, and Zero, standing tall over the corpses, his Black knight shield on his arm.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I apologize for the mess, but it seems that I got into a bit of a squabble with these two soldiers. They thought my freezing your boss and shattering him was bad, and I thought it was good. Oh well, to each their own." Zero explained nonchalantly.

"Black bishop." Zero stated as he conjured his chain.

Zero sent his chain to coil around the terrorist soldiers and activated the effect of the nen chain.

"You bastard…" One of the soldiers managed to say as he was being constricted.

Once the terrorists were down, Zero dispelled his Black Bishop. Now, only Zero and Euphemia were left standing.

"Hmm, it seems they're still alive. They're unconscious, and they each seem to have a number of broken bones though. I guess they weren't so loyal after all." Zero stated as he looked over to the bodies.

'Could this really be Lelouch?' Euphemia thought.

"Princess Euphemia li Britannia, so nice to finally meet with you. Everyone describes you as being sweet as candy, but personally, I was never very fond of sugar." Zero said half-threateningly.

"So, you are Zero, the man who killed my brother, Clovis?" Euphemia asked.

"That's right, I killed him. If you want to know, he cowered and begged pathetically to the very end. He pleaded for mercy with the same tongue he used to order the deaths of countless unarmed Japanese civilians in Shinjuku." Zero explained.

"I see, and is that why you took his life?" Euphemia asked solemnly.

"I took his life to avenge those who had fallen only because Clovis felt the whim to do so. I suggest you remember that the next time you go to visit his grave." Zero answered.

"What about Cornelia, why didn't you kill her?" Euphemia asked.

"I'm able to see the bigger picture, Euphemia. It's better for my plans that Cornelia stays alive… For the time being at least." Zero responded. "Besides, there isn't really much point in getting rid of her; after all, it's not like she's a threat."

'Could this really be my brother? Is seven years really that long? Long enough for him to change this much?' Euphemia thought.

"Black queen." Zero said as he summoned his scythe. He walked over to the soldiers who got knocked out by the constricting effect of the Black bishop chain and used his unblockable blade to slice through their necks.

"Princess, wait here for about twenty minutes and then you'll be free to walk out the front door with the rest of the hostages. All of the peons of the JLF should be dead by then." Zero said as he walked out of the room.

(On the main bridge)

Bonolenov dismissed his Prologue and began to dance in a spinning motion.

"Battle Contabile: Jupiter." Bonolenov shouted as he jumped into the air. A gigantic sphere with the appearance of the planet Jupiter appeared all around the flute-like tribesmen. The massive sphere immediately began to descend on Hisoka at great speed.

Hisoka however, was unfazed by the speeding giant orb.

"Bungee gum." Hisoka uttered as he held both his palms toward the falling planet.

Transmuting his aura into a rubbery state, Hisoka created a bouncy shield for himself.

Once the Jupiter hit the Bungee gum shield, a massive clash ensued, generating incredible force that caused the bridge beneath them to begin to break apart under Hisokas feet.

'You cannot defend against Jupiter with your Bungee gum. No rubber is bouncy enough to bounce this attack away.' Bonolenov thought.

Hisoka had a different plan in mind though.

The Bungee gum began to extend around the huge sphere in the form of tendrils. Hisoka then began to swing the Jupiter around like a flail, his Bungee gum extending into a rope between him and the sphere all the while.

Hisoka then jumped high into the air and using the centrifugal force he had built up, swung the Jupiter downward, smashing it into the pavement that lay just before the bridge.

The Jupiter vanished and left only a battered Bonolenov in its place. Bonolenov stood up, not defeated just yet.

It was then that Hisoka decided to activate his new ability.

" **Bungee Bubble Gum**." Hisoka shouted as his new ability came to life.

Numerous bubbles made from Hisoka's Bungee gum started to emerge from Hisokas body and started to spread across the area. Each bubble started out very small and then expanded to roughly fifteen inches in diameter.

"Huh, what are these bubbles? Some new application of Bungee gum?" Bonolenov asked himself.

Hisoka quickly kicked one of the bubbles toward Bonolenov's location. Bonolenov had the good sense to get out the way just in time. It was a good thing he did, because the bubble exploded the instant it hit the ground, leaving a cracked crater in the pavement.

Since the bubbles were made of nen aura, the observers in the crowd couldn't see them. To the crowd, it appeared that Hisoka had just projected the force of his kick through the air, leaving them all in shock at his immense raw strength. The only exception was Suzaku, whose aura awakened eyes could see the bubbles clearly.

'That was too close.' Bonolenov thought. 'Does that mean that all of the bubbles will explode? Not including the one that he already detonated, I count just a little more than two hundred bubbles in total. Wait, now that I think about it, that's the same number of exploding corpse puppets the Boss used to beat Hisoka during their fight two years ago. The development of his new ability must have been influenced by that fight; he wants to give the boss a taste of his own medicine.'

"Not only do they explode, but I can use them as footholds." Hisoka stated.

The magician leaped up and began to stand atop of the bubbles. To the non awakened crowd, it appeared as though Hisoka was standing on thin air.

Hisoka smirked as he pulled his playing cards back out. Hisoka started jumping horizontally from one bubble to another after another at high speed, swiping his cards at Bonolenov all the while.

Hisoka managed to land a few small cuts at first, but Bonolenov with his dance honed body quickly adapted to what his opponent was doing and began to dodge accordingly.

This continued for a few seconds until Bonolenov realized something was wrong. He found that he could no longer move his left foot. When he looked down to see what the problem was, he was horrified to see that he had stepped in some of Hisoka's Bungee gum.

"What, when did you…?" Bonolenov began to ask.

Hisoka, who had stopped jumping and was once more just standing on top of one of the bubbles, answered "When I kicked that first bubble at you. After a bubble explodes, the leftover Bungee gum can be used as an adhesive to restrict my enemies' movements."

Bonolenovs eyes widened upon this fact being revealed.

"My jumping around and slashing at you was to get you dodging so you would step where I wanted you to step. Now you can't move. Of course, I did have a back-up plan, just in case you noticed the Bungee gum on the ground and avoided it." Hisoka released the In he had been holding and revealed tendrils of Bungee gum connecting each and every bubble to Bonolenovs body.

"To answer your next question, I placed those tendrils while I was leaping around, trying to make you step in the Bungee gum." Hisoka explained. "It seems I didn't need them after all. But I see no reason to let good aura go to waste."

Hisoka commanded his Bungee gum tendrils to constrict, thus pulling all of the explosive bubbles toward the dancing warrior.

Bonolenov could do nothing other than activate Ken to protect himself.

To the onlookers, it appeared as though the air itself had exploded, originating from Bonolenovs body.

Bonolenov, bloody, unconscious, and with a number of broken bones, fell to his back.

Hisoka walked to the side of the suspension bridge, grabbed one of the very pillars, and ripped it clean off the bridge.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" Hisoka said as he tossed the huge pillar high into the air with a thread of Bungee gum attached to the bottom. He then used the Bungee gum to swing the pillar down on top of Bonolenov.

 **(SLAM)**

All was quiet. Hisoka had won.

Or, at least, that's what Hisoka thought before he noticed something strange.

'Why do I not see a pool of blood spreading?' Hisoka thought.

Hisoka walked over to the pillar, where he then lifted it up with one hand and tossed it over his shoulder, into the lake.

With the pillar gone, it revealed… The broken road fragments with no Bonolenov to be found.

"Huh? That can't be right!" Hisoka exclaimed. "After taking over 200 bubbles, even if he did use Ken to protect himself, he shouldn't have been able to move at all, let alone get out of sight." Hisoka said as he looked around but didn't see the Gyudondond anywhere.

'There must be another troupe member nearby.' Hisoka realized. 'The question is, who is it? I didn't see anyone rush in to rescue Bonolenov, nor did I see Bonolenov get pulled out of the way. It has to either be teleportation or invisibility. It must either be Chrollo, or a new troupe member that I don't know about. I suppose two years is enough time to fill the vacant memberships. Either way, being able to rescue my victims before I can finish the job will be a real nuisance; I have to figure out who it is and kill them first.'

Meanwhile, a little more than a block away from the hotel.

"I can't believe you made me do that." Daimaru complained. "I don't normally use Sunshine child to travel such a far distance, and round trip to."

Bonolenov just laid there on the ground.

"When I joined the troupe, I didn't think you guys would be so reliant on my light speed for rescue." Daimaru groaned as he hoisted Bonolenov over his shoulder and walked away.

(Military perimeter)

Suzaku dared not blink for the past few minutes, lest he miss the epic battle he had just bared witness to.

'This… This is the power… The power of master nen users… The power I'm training to achieve.' Suzaku thought with emotion he couldn't quite identify. Was it despair over seeing the immense power of a nen master, humility over realizing how much farther he had to go, excitement that he too would one day possess that same level of strength, or fearful regret of his plan to betray Lelouch and Hisoka and become the knight of one?

'I… I want… I want to be… I want to be stronger!' Suzaku thought with tears flowing rapidly.

In this moment of extreme emotion, Suzaku, instinctively and unconsciously, flared his Ren. An action that did not go unnoticed by Hisoka.

'He was able to trigger his Ren instinctually.' Hisoka thought with sinister delight. 'If he continues at this rate, he could have all seven advanced exercises mastered by the end of next month. Then, we can start to develop his hatsu. Based on what I've seen from him so far, I can gather that he'd rather die than give up on what he believes in. His ability will be immensely powerful indeed.'

While Hisoka was thinking about how he would have another helper in his bid for revenge, all of the hostages began running out of the hotel, signifying that Zero had finished dealing with the terrorists.

"Oh, looks like we're finished for the night." Hisoka stated.

After all of the hostages had escaped the hotel, Zero began to walk out after them. Though Zero was wearing a mask, it was obvious to everyone present that he was smirking.

Once Zero had made it back to Hisoka, he turned to his older sister and said "All of the are hostages free and unharmed. You're welcome. I do hope you enjoy the rest of your evening, Princess." Zero said smugly.

Hisoka grabbed Zero's arm, then used his free hand to extend a tendril of Bungee gum to a nearby building. The magician then recoiled the Bungee gum to slingshot himself and Zero away into the night. To anyone who couldn't see the Bungee gum, it looked like the clown just flew away with Zero in tow.

Cornelia, who was very weak in the knees after watching the epic fight between Hisoka and Bonolenov, with tears running down her face in rivers, could only think 'I don't understand half of what I witnessed, but there is one thing I know for sure. No matter how excellent a strategy, no matter how powerful a knightmare, no matter how numerous my forces, I can't win, not against monsters like that.'

 **And… Scene!**

 **That is chapter 7.**

 **Sorry this chapter came out so late, holiday season, computer issues, the occasional hippo stampede. You know how it goes.**

 **Please leave a review!**

 **Hisoka's new ability**

 **Name: Bungee Bubble Gum (bubble popping game)**

 **Type: Transmutation & Emission**

 **Description:**

 **Hisoka transmutes his aura into small round pieces of Bungee gum, then emits aura into them to make them inflate to roughly 15 inches in diameter. Hisoka can make more than 200 of these bubbles.**

 **Hisoka can use the bubbles as floating platforms and the bubbles explode when they come into contact with anything other than Hisoka.**

 **Once a bubble explodes, the leftover Bungee gum can be used as an adhesive to restrict a victim's movements.**


	8. The Prince's Glorious Battle

**Chapter 8: The Prince and the Jester**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

It had been two weeks since the incident at Lake Kawaguchi, and during that time, people couldn't keep their mouths shut.

"What do you think the story is with this 'Gyudondond tribe'?"

"Do you think Zero is a member of the tribe?"

"I think that at the very least he's a disciple of the tribe."

"Didn't that Bonolenov person say that Zero was the disciple of that clown guy?"

"This is so confusing! The clown didn't even use armor. It was like a completely different power."

"Don't forget, Bonolenov had to dance to activate his powers. Zero and the clown didn't have to do that."

"But what about this 'Phantom troupe'?"

"Maybe the Phantom troupe is the Gyudondond's most elite warriors."

"Maybe the troupe is the Gyudondond's oldest and bitterest enemies."

"Wasn't that Bonolenov guy part of the troupe? If the troupe and the tribe were enemies, why would Bonolenov be a member?"

"He could be a traitor to his people."

"Where do you think the clown fits into the equation?"

These were just some of the whispers that Lelouch heard day after day as he walked through the school hallway.

'This couldn't be more perfect.' Lelouch thought happily 'Theories and rumors are abundant. Confusion grows with each passing day. Britannia is going nuts and the Japanese are becoming hopeful. That battle between Hisoka and Bonolenov is sending the reputation of Zero through the roof.'

Indeed, children all over the world, including the children of Britannia, were playing Zero and reenacting the battle between the clown and tribesman. Plus, rebel cells all across the globe were becoming more daring in their respective ongoing struggles against the empire.

'It was quite the stroke of luck that Bonolenov was the troupe member to show up. Fortunately, he has nen abilities that are very similar to mine. If not for that, the rumors wouldn't be half this chaotic.' Lelouch thought.

Out of all the big changes that had transpired in the past two weeks, Lelouch's favorite by far was the fact that he had recruited another four rebel groups to his cause. Those four, along with the Kozuki resistance and the Yamato alliance, brings him to a total of six terrorist groups united under his command.

Lelouch's phone buzzed, alerting him to a text message.

It was from Ohgi.

Apparently, there was a seventh terrorist group that wanted to unite under his command. The message said that they wanted to meet Zero in person. Lelouch now knew what he would be doing after school today.

(Viceroy's palace, Cornelia's office)

Cornelia was lying back in her chair looking half-dead.

'How could things have escalated so far out of control so quickly?' Cornelia thought. 'I'm supposed to be the pride of the Britannian military, and look at me now. I can barely find the motivation to get out of bed.'

Knock knock! Someone was knocking at the door.

"Come in!" Cornelia answered in a soulless voice.

Jeremiah Gottwald entered the office.

"You summoned for me, Princess?" Jeremiah asked.

"Take a seat." Cornelia ordered with far less authority in her voice than was standard for her.

Jeremiah closed the door behind him and proceeded to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Cornelia sat upright and said "Jeremiah, I want to apologize."

"Apologize?" Jeremiah asked.

"You understood the true danger of Zero and his clown before any of us. I had marked you as a coward, unfit to be in the military. That was before Lake Kawaguchi. I've… I've come to understand the true power of the threat I challenged with such bravado." Cornelia explained as she started tearing up.

"Your Highness!" Jeremiah uttered in shock.

"I'm not going to try to fight Zero anymore." Cornelia stated as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Please Princess, you can't simply give up." Jeremiah urged, only to be stopped by Cornelia holding up her hand to tell him to stop talking.

"I believe there's something you should know." Cornelia stated.

(Flashback, last night)

Princess Cornelia was having a video conference; the face on the large monitor was none other than the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia.

"Cornelia, your time in Area 11 has proven to be nothing short of a total disgrace to the empire. First, Zero captures and interrogates you, then to add insult to injury, he delivers you back to the Viceroy's palace without even taking the effort of taking your life. Then, he eliminated a terrorist cell which you yourself were supposed to eliminate. He even saved the life of Euphemia, a Britannian royal saved by a terrorist who had already taken the life of Clovis, another Britannian royal." Charles scolded angrily.

"Did you not see the news footage? There's no way to beat those monsters. Not even with the entirety of the might of the empire." Cornelia argued in despair.

"Is this it? Have you been broken so easily? Britannia's 'Goddess of War' reduced to a mere shell because of a few magic tricks?" Charles retorted.

"You weren't there. You didn't suffer the tangibly immense power that those two were emitting during their fight." Cornelia cried as she fell to her knees.

"To think that one of my finest children would become such a disappointment in such a short period of time. Since you clearly lack what is necessary, I shall send Nonette Enneagram and Luciano Bradley to eliminate Zero for you." Charles declared.

Cornelia could only stare at the floor, eyes widened.

(Flashback end)

"The… The Knight of Nine and the Knight of Ten are coming here?" Jeremiah stuttered.

"It's just as well. I always hated those two anyway." Cornelia mused.

"The Knights of the round are the greatest military power in all of Britannia. Do you really so easily believe that they'll fall to Zero and his clown?" Jeremiah asked disbelievingly.

"Don't ask a question that's already been answered." Cornelia responded.

"I apologize your Highness." Jeremiah stated as he bowed his head.

"Originally, my plan was to completely eliminate the terrorist presence in Area 11 and then turn my Viceroyship over to Euphie. Now, my plans have changed; once Nonette and Luciano have been defeated, I'm going to use their defeat as an excuse to turn over this country to Zero, finally putting an end to this nightmare." Cornelia explained.

"Your Highness, if Zero takes over, then the Britannian people will face countless hardships in retribution for all that's been done to the eleven population." Jeremiah countered.

"I'm fully convinced that Zero will take this nation one way or another. This is to cut out the middleman and minimize further casualties." Cornelia countered.

'Just under two months ago, everything was so perfect. How did things all go to hell so quickly?' Jeremiah thought in despair.

"You both seem quite down today." Zeno stated as he emerged from the shadows.

"Please leave!" Cornelia requested. "I'm honestly not in the mood."

"I see, you must be the man I heard about, the assassin who refuses to leave the Princess alone." Jeremiah deduced as he started to reach for his gun.

"There are at least twelve different ways I could prevent your bullet from hitting me, all of them ending with your corpse falling to the floor. That said, I suggest you choose your next action carefully." Zeno explained with a mild wave of malice.

Jeremiah immediately let his arm fall, knowing he couldn't win.

"Just tell us why you're here." Cornelia demanded as a severe headache began to take form.

"Oh honestly, can't a creepy elderly man of questionable origin check in on a beautiful young lady and her large breasts without everyone making a big stink about the whole thing?" Zeno asked.

(Ashford Academy, Lelouch and Nunnally's home, after classes were done for the day)

"So, just place my hands around the glass and channel aura out of my palms?" Suzaku asked as he stared at the thing in front of him, a wine glass full of water with a leaf on the water's surface.

"That's correct?" Hisoka clarified. "An enhancer will cause the water to change amount, a transmuter will cause the water to change taste, an emitter will make the water change color, a conjurer will cause the water to be polluted, a manipulator will make the leaf move around, and a specialist will cause some other effect."

"I'm an enhancer, right?" Suzaku asked.

"We're about to find out." Hisoka answered.

Suzaku did as instructed.

Once his aura started to flow, the volume of the water expanded ever so slightly, and a single small trickle began to spill out the side.

"Ok, so I am an enhancer after all?" Suzaku questioned.

"Sayoko, could you come in here for a moment." Hisoka called out.

Sayoko walked in from the other room and asked "Yes, Mr. Hisoka?"

"I'd like you to demonstrate your hatsu." Hisoka said while pointing at the wine glass.

"Oh, alright!" Sayoko agreed.

She put her hands around the glass and channeled her hatsu.

A ten inch tall geyser of water immediately shot up and the glass was left with several cracks.

"Oh no, now look at what I've done. This glass is ruined and there's water everywhere." Sayoko stated regretfully.

She took the damaged glass away with the intent of returning with a rag to clean up the mess she had made.

"Practice your hatsu until you can do something like that." Hisoka said to Suzaku who was in awe at the incredible hatsu that Sayoko had just displayed.

"Uh, exactly how long did it take her to master that level of strength?" Suzaku asked.

"If I recall correctly, it was around four months." Hisoka answered.

"I've got a long way to go." Suzaku realized out loud.

"You work on that, I've got a quick errand I need to run." Hisoka said as he stepped out the window.

(In the nearby park)

Lelouch and Kallen were sitting on a park bench, enjoying a celebratory ice cream following the recent recruitment of their newest subordinate terrorist cell, a small group of nineteen people calling themselves 'The Crimson Eclipse'. Not that Lelouch really cared what they called themselves. As far as he was concerned, they were the seventh division now.

As they were enjoying their frozen treats, they saw a group of Britannians harassing a Japanese food cart vender.

Kallen stood up to teach them a lesson, but Lelouch put a hand on her shoulder from behind.

"If you help him today, he won't be able to make a living tomorrow." Lelouch pointed out.

"So I should just do nothing?" Kallen whispered angrily.

"Kallen, I have big plans for this world. Soon enough, situations like this one will be nothing more than a bad memory." Lelouch reassured. "That poor man will want to be there for it, but he can't if he starves to death before it can happen."

"I'd still like to turn those Britannian bastards into chum for doing such horrible things." Kallen stated.

"Just so you know, it really turns me on when you talk like that." Lelouch informed, much to Kallen's embarrassment.

Just as Kallen was starting to calm down, the Britannian bullies fell dead one after another from broken necks.

There were two assailants. The first was a tall man with blonde hair and a green tracksuit. The other was a short man with black hair, pale skin, and wore a black coat with a high collar that covered the lower half of his face.

Lelouch immediately recognized them. 'Phinks Magcub and Feitan Porter!'

Everyone in the park began to clear out, wanting to get as far away as possible from the killers. Shortly, there were only five people left in the area, Lelouch, Kallen, Phinks, Feitan, and the food vender who had been bullied.

'Great, now the police will swarm this place and they'll have the park closed off as a crime scene. Damn, I really enjoy coming here. Now I'm gonna have to wait days or even weeks before I can come back.' Lelouch thought annoyed. 'But on to the more immediate problem, there's no way those two monsters haven't already noticed that I'm a nen user.'

"W-w-why would you…?" The food cart vender tried asking as his question died in his throat.

"We just did you a favor. Don't question it when someone commits a good deed out of the kindness of their heart. We didn't have to save you, ya know." Phinks argued.

"I guess some people are too idiotic to consider the demise of their foes as beneficial." Feitan mused.

The vender hastily got to his feet and ran away as fast as he could.

The two Troupe members walked over to Lelouch and Kallen.

"Hey, you're Zero, right?" Phinks asked looking to Lelouch.

Kallen's eyes widened and she asked Lelouch "Hey, who are these two?"

"They're both members of the Phantom Troupe." Lelouch answered.

"The Phantom Troupe? You mean like that tribe, flute guy?" Kallen asked.

"Yes!" Lelouch responded. "The man with the blonde hair is Phinks. He currently holds the position of greatest physical strength among all the Troupe members. His ability is called Ripper Cyclotron: Every time he cranks his arm, the following punch becomes that much more powerful."

"And the man with the black hair is Feitan. He's the Troupe member who specializes in torture and interrogation, but mostly torture. His ability is called Rising Sun: When he gets hurt, he can unleash a wave of scorching heat. The more damage he takes, the more intense the inferno." Lelouch finishes.

"So, I guess you are Zero then." Phinks stated.

"Only someone who's had contact with Hisoka would know who we are, and know our abilities." Feitan declared.

'Damn, now what? If these two are as strong as Bonolenov, then I'm in real trouble. Fighting one of them would be difficult. But two?' Lelouch thought.

"Listen, we don't really have any interest in fighting you." Phinks stated.

Lelouch let go of a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"We just want to kill Hisoka. Do you happen to know where he is?" Phinks asked.

'Not good, Hisoka is far too valuable for me to lose, and I know I can't beat these two in a fight, and playing dumb will only make things worse for me, I need something else… I know.' Lelouch thought.

"I'm afraid I don't know where he is." Lelouch replied. "He's the one who contacts me, and he won't give me a way to get in touch with him. I don't know where he comes from, where he goes to, or what he does when he's not with me." Lelouch answered truthfully.

"Yeah, I guess that's pretty much what I was expecting." Phinks stated in annoyance.

"You Phantom Troupe are stealth masters, right? You can follow behind me and wait for Hisoka to show up if you want." Lelouch offered. "You don't need to worry about me getting involved, I really couldn't care less about the grudge between you and Hisoka; my only beef is with the empire. Hisoka hates when I steal his kills anyway."

"Yeah, okay!" Phinks agreed, followed by him and Feitan jumping out of sight.

'I can't believe they agreed so easily. Are they arrogant or are they planning something?' Lelouch wondered. 'My plan was for them to face the combined strength of me, Hisoka, and Sayoko. This could get ugly.'

"Come on Kallen, let's go." Lelouch stated as he grabbed Kallen by the hand and pulled her with more force than was necessary. Not that one could really blame Lelouch for being on edge.

(In the warehouse district)

In a warehouse, all across the floor, there were countless corpses. Some belonging to drug dealers; some belonging to drug addicts.

The warehouse was actually a major supplier of the drug known as Refrain, a liquid injection type drug that causes you to hallucinate the happiest moments from your memory.

Standing amongst the dead bodies, having claimed the vast quantities of the psychedelic substance, was Hisoka.

"This will do quite nicely." Hisoka said with a chuckle. "Theses drugs could come in very handy in the coming war. Hmm, I'll need to get some darts… And dart guns. I doubt it will be as effective as the actual injection device, but at the very least, I suspect the victims won't be able to see straight."

(That Evening, Lelouch and Nunnally's home)

Hisoka climbed in the window, as he usually did. Already in the room was Lelouch, Kallen, Suzaku, Nunnally, and Sayoko. C.C. was standing in the corner not really caring about what was going on.

"I have some good news. I managed to round up a heavy supply of chemical weapons. Now we just need darts to load the stuff into and some dart guns to fire the darts." Hisoka informed.

"We have a tiny problem." Lelouch stated.

Hisoka noticed something in Lelouch's eye; a reflection.

Hisoka turned around to see Phinks and Feitan standing in front of the window he had come in through just moments earlier.

"Hey Hisoka, it's been a while." Phinks greeted.

"Bono is probably gonna hate us for taking away his chance at revenge." Feitan stated as he pulled out his umbrella and unsheathed the hidden sword.

Lelouch conjured his Black King and said "Suzaku, Kallen, Nunnally, you three go, Hisoka, Sayoko, and I will handle this.

Hisoka drew some cards from his deck and Sayoko pulled out a pair of kunai knives.

"Oh, you know what? This totally slipped my mind." Phinks said, faking embarrassment. "We got some new friends who've been wanting to meet you."

Phinks moved out of the way to reveal two other Troupe members who had just come in through the window.

The first was Daimaru. The second was Naota, who was just finishing his second 500ml bottle of water.

"Ah, new Troupe members to replace Shalnark and Kortopi. I wonder what abilities they have?" Hisoka said, failing to hide his sadistic excitement.

"Let's see here!" Phinks exclaimed. "On your side are three strong nen users, two weak nen users, and two non user… Okay, I know how to divvy it up."

"Divvy it up? What does that mean?" Lelouch asked.

Phinks responded by punching the ground and shouting "Other Battle."

Several streams of aura shot from the blonde mans fist and crawled across the floor. The aura headed straight for Lelouch, Suzaku, Sayoko, Nunnally, Daimaru, and Naoto.

The aura took on a disc-like shape beneath their feet and all six fell through.

(Near downtown Tokyo, on the roof of a five story building)

Three aura disc's appeared in mid air. Out of them fell Lelouch, Suzaku, and Naota.

"Well would you look at that, I got one strong and one weak." Naota stated, seeing who Phinks had decided his opponents would be. "Tell me, have either of you ever been mauled by a shark?"

Naota activated his ability. "Great White." His aura took on shark-like characteristics.

Lelouch retaliated. "Black Queen." The scythe appeared in Lelouch's hands.

Suzaku simply took a fighting stance, hoping that his nen training would be enough to ensure that he at least wouldn't be dead weight.

(In the forest outside the city)

Three disc shaped auras appeared just below the low branches.

Sayoko, Nunnally, and Daimaru fell from the portals.

"I was hoping I'd get both of the strong ones, but I guess that's too much to ask. Oh well, one of the strongs and a weak will just have to satisfy me." Daimaru lamented.

"Mistress Nunnally, please stay behind me." Sayoko insisted. "I swear I will protect you."

Nunnally, with full faith in Sayoko ducked behind a nearby tree to watch the battle from there.

(Back at Ashford)

"What do you think of my new ability, Hisoka?" Phinks asked with a smirk. "A lot can happen in two years, and the story behind my new power is a real doozy. Too bad you're gonna die before I can tell you about it."

Phinks began to wind his arm.

"An Emission type portal? Does that mean you're the one who saved Bono from the bridge?" Hisoka questioned.

"No it wasn't you." Hisoka deduced. "The action that caused his disappearance was so subtle, even I didn't notice. Subtlety was never your specialty."

"Like that really matters to a dead man." Feitan stated. "All you have left are the two non users." Feitan pointed his blade toward C.C. and Kallen who had not been teleported.

"DIE!" Hisoka, Phinks, and Feitan shouted simultaneously as they charged toward each other. Hisoka with his playing cards, Feitan with his umbrella sword, and Phinks with a punch charged with sixteen cranks.

(Downtown rooftop)

Suzaku activated Ren and charged toward Naota with a punch.

"WAIT!" Lelouch shouted at his friend, but it was too little, too late.

Suzaku got in close and threw his punch… Which Naota easily caught with a hand strengthened by Gyo.

"Ren? Really? Either you're an idiot or your training is incomplete. Then again, I shouldn't rule out the possibility of both." Naota laughed.

"Dammit!" Suzaku shout as he raised his left leg to kick Naota in the side. This endeavor was a failure as Naota used Ryu to focus 75 percent aura into his right side.

Naota took the kick and didn't even flinch.

Naota raised his free hand so that he could bring it down and use his transmuted shark teeth to shred Suzaku's face.

Before he could, however, his survival instincts told him to jump back immediately.

It was a good thing he did, because Lelouch had jumped in, swinging his scythe to save his friend.

"That was close, you nearly chopped my arm off." Naota stated with amusement. "I don't appreciate you trying to chop my arm." He stated with irritation.

Naota ran to the edge of the roof and jumped down to the street below.

Lelouch and Suzaku ran over to the edge to see that Naota had started using his shark fangs to kill random people on the street, an action that had completely disgusted the two of them.

"Wait here." Lelouch said before jumping down after the shark man.

'Watching from the sidelines is all I can do, isn't it?' Suzaku thought depressed as he remembered the difference in scale of his Hatsu from Sayoko's.

Lelouch confronted Naota and said "Killing bystanders? Is there a reason, or are you just a sadist?"

"Tell me, Zero, have you heard of a band called Black Planet?" Naota asked.

"Black Planet? Never heard of them." Zero replied.

"Boy, do I feel sorry for you, then." Naota stated as he pulled out a pair of earbuds and inserted them into his ears. "You should really look into them. Their second album is absolutely the best. Once you finish all twelve songs, it's like you just got through a really awesome story." Naota explained as he pulled out a music player and plugged in the earbuds.

'I won't mention that the second album is exactly one hour long. The same length of time that I can use Aquarium.' Naota thought sinisterly as he selected the album and put the music player back in his pocket.

"Aquarium." Naota shouted as a giant deluge of water emerged from his body and began to flood the area.

Zero jumped back to avoid the waters. He managed to get clear as the water reached its stopping point at eighteen meters and formed a dome-like shape.

"Waters warm Zero. Come on, take a dip." Naota called out from the water. "Don't worry, the waters breathable."

Zero dismissed his scythe and conjured his hammer. "Black Rook."

Zero tried bashing his hammer against the bubble, only for the impact to be nullified.

"That won't work Zero. Attacks can't penetrate the outside of the water, but there's nothing stopping you from entering the water and attacking me then." Naota explained.

"If I did that, I would be giving you the home field advantage." Zero deduced.

"Like jumping into a shark tank." Naota confirmed.

"And why would I do that?" Zero asked.

"Because it's the only way you'll have a chance at stopping me from posting your real identity online." Naota threatened.

Zero dismissed his hammer and charged into the water. As promised, it was, in fact, breathable.

'I managed to kill seven people before Zero jumped down from the rooftop. The average person has about five liters of blood in their body. With the corpses bleeding out in the water, I should be able to reach level thirty-five.' Naota analyzed. 'With the blood that's already spread, I should be at level eight or nine.'

"Alright Zero, time to die." Naota shouted. "Shark Frenzy."

"Black Bishop." Zero conjurered his chain and sent it toward his foe.

Naota swam and avoided the chain, but it still pursued. He headed for Zero to deliver a finishing strike, but Zero was prepared.

"Black Queen." Zero brought back his scythe in his free hand.

Zero slashed, but resistance from the nen water prevented the scythe from being fast enough.

Naota dodged and continued swimming away from the chain. He started to use his shark jaw finger to further damage the corpses in the water, spreading even more blood, making Naota even more powerful.

'I should be at level nineteen now.' Naota thought.

The shark man saw the figure of Zero through the blood and swam in for the kill.

Naota slashed the figure in the chest and it seemed as though Naota had won, but…

"Wait, that hit felt wrong." Naota uttered.

This distraction caused Naota to hold still long enough for the chain to bind him.

After struggling for a moment, Naota took notice that the person he slashed was not Zero.

"I highly doubt you're loyal enough for the Black Bishop, but fortunately, Black Queen can rectify the problem." Zero stated as he swam up and took his scythe back.

'Damn, he put his scythe in the hand of one of the corpses and used it as a decoy. With all the blood in the water, I didn't see it.' Naota thought.

Zero put a great deal of aura into his arms so the water resistance wouldn't be an issue. He swung his scythe at Naota's neck.

To onlookers who had come to see the cause of the giant water bubble, the water just seemed to vanish after Zero chopped off the head of the person who seemed to be his opponent.

As Zero walked toward the viewing crowd, he looked toward a group of people who had been recording and streaming the event on their phones.

As he walked by, Zero said "Whew, I'm beat!"

(In the forest)

"Alright little maid, let's see what you got." Daimaru taunted.

Sayoko used Shu to coat her knives in aura and charged toward her opponent.

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child, and countered Sayoko's advance by charging toward her and punching her in the gut at light speed.

Sayoko was sent flying backwards many meters through dozens of trees and rocks.

"Well, that takes care of her." Daimaru said as he turned toward a cowering Nunnally. "Now for you, little girl."

As he was about to make his move against the girl, he sensed someone running toward him. He turned and saw a very pissed off Sayoko about to slice his head in half.

As Sayoko was about to strike, he activated Sunshine Child and moved out of the way, leaving a very confused Sayoko where he once stood.

"I'm very impressed. You not only survived my attack, but to recover so quickly, and without any visible strain. Should I even mention how fast you were able to get back here from where you landed?" Daimaru praised from across the battlefield.

Sayoko regained her composure and attempted to interrogate him. "You have super strength and it seems you can teleport. Care to elaborate on your abilities?"

"What, and spoil all the fun that is your confusion? I don't think so." Daimaru responded.

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child once more and charged toward his foe to give her a swift high kick in the face. Once again, Sayoko was sent flying.

Sayoko wasn't down for long. Once again, she got back up and charged toward Daimaru.

Sayoko tried again and again, but no matter what she did, she couldn't land a single hit. He would just disappear and reappear on a different part of the battlefield. Although, Daimaru did start panting a bit, which Sayoko considered a bit odd. He shouldn't be out of breath already.

"Sayoko!" Nunnally called out from her hiding place.

The maid turned her head to see that Nunnally was sitting on the ground. She had no aura in her crippled legs, and thus, wasn't able to manipulate them. The reason for this lack of life energy in her legs; she was focusing all of her aura into her eyes using Ko.

"I think I've figured out his ability. It was very difficult to see, even with Ko, but I think he's just moving really fast." Nunnally informed.

"Ha ha ha ha ha, I plea guilty, I'm not denying your claim. I transmute my aura to match the qualities of… LIGHT." Daimaru laughed as he made a bright glow shine from his body as he said the word 'light'.

'I see.' Sayoko thought. 'His teleportation is just him moving faster than the eye can see. His super strength, that was the transfer of kinetic energy. So now the question is, how do I beat someone who moves at the speed of light?'

"Let's finish this." Daimaru declared.

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child once more and charged in to attack. Sayoko braced herself for another flight with Ken.

'Like I'm that predictable.' Daimaru thought before he charged.

Daimaru stopped just in front of Sayoko and delivered a Gyo kick to her side, followed by a Gyo elbow in her nose.

"Had enough yet?" Daimaru asked. "How about you make this easy on both of us and just let me kill you?" Daimaru had been panting the whole time. 'Damn, I have to end this quickly. I've used Sunshine Child too much as it is.'

"You seem to be short of breath, and I sense that your aura is running low. I have two possible theories about that." Sayoko stated.

Daimaru grew annoyed hearing this.

"Theory one, you have very little stamina. Theory two, your light speed ability requires a lot of life energy to function." Sayoko explained.

"Big deal, so I'm low on gas. I can still finish you and the girl no problem." Daimaru boasted through his heavy breaths.

"There are many facets of combat. Brute strength, attack force, durability, stamina, speed, agility, creativity! Those who excel in only one category always end up dying young. To be victorious in a fight, you must be skilled in all categories." Sayoko explained.

Daimaru felt his anger explode. "DIE!"

Daimaru activated Sunshine Child again and tried to attack her. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have the necessary aura to reinforce his body. After he activated his ability, he lost control and crashed into a tree at high speed.

'Damn, this is not good. I'm almost out of aura and I can feel a bunch of my bones are cracked. Let's see, five cracks in my ribs, two in my right arm, three in my left arm, four in my right leg, three in my left leg.' Daimaru thought worried. 'Looks like it's time for my ace in the hole.'

Sayoko walked over to the man in order to deliver the final blow.

Once she got close, Daimaru pointed at her and shot a laser from his finger tip, right through Sayoko's heart. Sayoko collapsed immediately.

"SAYOKO!" Nunnally screamed in anguish.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, what do ya think of my second ability, Sunshine Beam?" Daimaru cackled like a loonatic as Sayoko's blood began to spread.

Daimaru got up and examined his current condition. 'I may not be able to strengthen myself enough for Sunshine Child, but I can at least keep these bone fractures from hindering me from getting back to the others. I won't be able to fight for a while, but I can at least kill the girl with a laser.'

Daimaru started walking towards a very sad, very scared Nunnally.

"Bye bye little nuisance." Daimaru stated as he pointed his finger toward Nunnally and was about to shoot another laser.

Before Daimaru could deal the killing blow, he was struck in the back by a knife, courtesy of none other than Sayoko.

Daimaru fell to the ground and saw that the maid was actually alive.

"Impossible! I shot you through the heart. Why aren't you dead?" Daimaru asked.

"The angle of your shot was off. Your laser went above my heart instead of through it. I wasn't killed, just stunned for a moment." Sayoko explained.

Sayoko raised her knife and rammed it into the light user's skull, killing him.

Nunnally ran over to Sayoko, hugged her, and started crying.

"Come on Mistress Nunnally, we should get back home." Sayoko suggested.

The two began the trek back to Ashford.

 **And there we have chapter 8.**

 **Look, I know chapters are a bit far between and for that I apologize. Just so you know, I have every intention of keeping this story going until the end, so don't worry.**

 **Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter than I would have liked. Part of it was kinda a rush job. My dog recently had… THAT surgery and I really needed to focus on her. Poor thing. She could barely move.**

 **Also, I've recently been having some trouble with my internet server.**

 **I would like to give a shout out to Xavier Rall**

 **Author of the fascinating story- "Ghost in the Shell: The X Reality X of X Nen"**

 **I recommend reading it. You can find a link to it in my Favorites.**

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 **Phinks new ability**

 **Name: Other Battle (Quest through the war zone)**

 **Type: Emission**

 **Description:**

 **Phinks punches the ground and sends several streams of aura toward the feet of his enemies and allies. The aura then becomes a portal that teleports said enemy and ally to a location that Phinks has marked so they can battle there. The idea is for Phinks to fight the enemy boss without their allies getting in the way. That is why the activation condition of this ability is that it can only be used when Phinks is trying to get rid of his enemies helpers.**


End file.
